For the first time, the Office for National Statistics has released first-time buyer data to a local authority level 🗺️. The data gives insight into how the pattern of demand has changed over the last decade to 2023 (their latest data) 📅.
A decade ago, the average across UK local authorities was 8.8 first-time buyers per 1,000 dwellings 🏘️. This reached a peak in 2021 (13.1) 📈, before falling back to 9.1 in 2023 due to affordability issues 💸.
📍 Locations with higher proportions of first-time buyers tend to be more affordable and have higher new build supply 🧱 (parts of East London are a good case in point).
In 2013, seven of the top 10 locations were boroughs and local authorities within the London primary urban area 🌆. By 2023, only two London boroughs remained in the top rankings ⬇️.
The top-ranked areas in 2023 were more affordable and notably located on the edge of key cities 🏙️🚆.
Source: Dataloft by PriceHubble, ONS 📚
