Big increase in first-time buyers as house price growth slows
The number of first-time buyers in the UK increased dramatically this past year, driving a big increase in sales while house price growth has slowed.
Online property platform Zoopla has published its latest House Price Index, which reveals that the housing market will have its strongest year for house price sales in three years in 2025.
The 9% increase in the number of house sales seen this year is attributed by the platform to stabilising mortgage rates and stronger growth in household incomes relative to housing prices.
House price growth has slowed, however, declining to just 1.1% over the past year. This is well below the 10-year average price growth of 3.8%, although there is significant disparity between regions of the UK.
House prices in London, for example, have declined by 0.6% as more people find it harder to afford already expensive homes and assocaited stamp duty costs.
In the North West, however, house prices rose by 2.9% and in Northern Ireland, house prices hae grown by 6.7% annually.
House prices are also falling across southern England and in areas where extra tax on second homes is impacting demand.
Big increase in first-time buyers
Data shows that Britons are finding it easier to get on the housing ladder as affordability slowly improves, with the number of first-time buyers on track to be 20% higher in 2025 than last year.
First-time buyers accounted for 39% of all sales in 2025, followed by existing homeowners at 33% and cash buyers at 21%.
This increase in first-time buying is driven in part by improvements in mortgage availability, allowing buyers to borrow more.
However, first-time buyers still find areas such as London unaffordable, where they are looking to buy homes at a price 3% cheaper than a year ago.
Zoopla said that looking ahead to 2026, it expects average house prices to increase by 1.5%, again well below the 10-year average.
Stronger demand is anticipated at the start of 2026 due to pent-up demand.
“Now the uncertainty has lifted, we expect a stronger than usual start to 2026 as buyers return to the market,” said Zoopla executive director Richard Donnell.
“The appetite to move home remains strong but affordability remains a constraint for those buying their first home or looking to trade-up to a larger home which will keep prices in check.”
“Average UK house prices are projected to be 1.5% higher over 2026 with a continued divide between southern England and the rest of the country where affordability is better and buying costs are lower,” he said.
