The latest Rightmove statistics report a 0.4% monthly increase in the price of property coming to market - very similar to the 0.5% rise recorded in the same period 12 months ago.
Early data is showing a "steady start" to 2017’s housing market, as well as a "window of opportunity" for first-time buyers who have more choice and negotiating power.
Early indicators of housing demand also appear robust, with Rightmove traffic compared to a year ago up by 5% since Boxing Day, which is traditionally when movers start to search in numbers.
This increase in search activity is notable given that a year ago market activity was buoyed by the November announcement that second-home stamp duty would apply from April 2016.
With markedly fewer buy-to-let purchasers than this time a year ago, there is a new year opportunity for first-time buyers to fill the void left by buy-to-let purchasers.
The availability of typical first-time-buyer houses with two bedrooms and fewer are is 1.9% compared to last year, offering more choice for first-time buyers. This contrasts with the same period a year ago, when available stock fell by 18% as active buy-to-let purchasers reduced choice and limited buyers’ ability to negotiate.
A restraining force on potential first-time buyer activity is increasingly stretched affordability. Their favoured target sector of two bedrooms or fewer has seen the biggest price rises both month-on-month (+2.6%) and year-on-year (+6.4%) of any sector, partly a legacy from last spring’s buy-to-let surge.
Miles Shipside, Rightmove Director, said: “Those planning to buy their first home in 2017 have more choice of properties and less competition from other buyers than their counterparts a year ago. It’s a possible learning point for aspiring first-time buyers that a year ago buy-to-let purchasers acted more quickly and closed deals at a faster rate, appearing not to take a Christmas break. Admittedly they had the financial incentive of a deadline to motivate them, but first-time buyers still have time to act and currently have the incentive of stronger negotiating power to try and mitigate the upwards trajectory of property prices.
“Some sellers of first-time-buyer properties may be being over-optimistic with their pricing, giving an opportunity for budget-strapped first-time buyers to negotiate, especially if they act now while there’s still more choice available.”
