London first-time buyers undeterred by COVID

London’s first-time buyers have brushed off soaring house prices and COVID uncertainty, according to new research from Halifax. The capital’s first-time buyer figured dipped 6% in 2020 as the housing market was closed for months during the first national lockdown. However, the slump was the lowest in the capital compared to the rest of the UK – despite London having the highest house prices in the country. In total, the number of first-time buyers across the UK slipped 13%, with Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland suffering the biggest drops of 23%, 23% and 21% respectively. Transactions bounced back strongly in the second half of the year, rising from 121,000 in the first six months of 2020 to 183,607 in the remainder of 2020. The number of first-time buyers in the second half of 2020 was down just 2% compared to the previous year's levels.

City AM (25/01/2021)   The Times (25/01/2021)   Daily Mail (25/01/2021)