First-time buyer hot and cold spots highlight north-south divide

Average asking prices for typical first-time buyer homes in some parts of Britain have jumped by nearly a fifth over the past year, according to analysis by a property website.

Rightmove, which looked across Britain but excluded London from the analysis, said Bridlington in Yorkshire and St Helens in Merseyside led the way as first-time buyer price hotspots, with average asking prices having increased by 18% annually.

In Scotland, asking prices for first-time buyer homes in Falkirk have increased by 17% annually and in Hartlepool in the north-east of England, they have risen by 12%, according to the analysis.

First-time buyer homes were defined in the research as those with two bedrooms at the most, including houses and flats.

Rightmove said the fastest-growing areas for asking prices on its list had average prices below £170,000, highlighting continued demand for more affordable homes.

In contrast, several higher-priced southern markets, including Brighton and Southampton, are seeing average first-time buyer prices ease compared with last year, it said.

Rightmove said that the average asking price across the research for a typical first-time buyer home is £228,048, down by 0.7% annually.

It also found that St Albans in Hertfordshire is the most expensive area to buy a typical first-time buyer home, at £401,352.

The least expensive is Middlesbrough, Rightmove said. A first-time buyer could typically buy four homes in Middlesbrough for the price of one in St Albans. The average asking price for a first-time buyer home in Middlesbrough is £90,929.

Colleen Babcock, a property expert at Rightmove, said: “Affordability continues to shape where first-time buyers are looking, and we’re seeing the strongest price growth in areas where homes remain within reach for more people.

“Lower-cost locations are still seeing strong interest, with competition for homes helping to hold prices up.

“In more expensive markets, tenants are taking a bit more time and thinking more carefully about what they can afford, which is keeping growth relatively flat.”

As well as rising asking prices in some areas, first-time buyers will have also faced the hurdle of jumps in mortgage rates, amid the conflict in the Middle East and wider economic uncertainty. But many lenders have been cutting mortgage rates in recent weeks.

Rightmove analysed first-time buyer properties coming to market in May where there were at least 20 new listings and at least 20 sales agreed.

This analysis excluded London due to its significantly higher asking-price levels, which Rightmove said can distort comparisons with the rest of Britain.

Nathan Emerson, chief executive of property professionals’ body Propertymark, said: “These figures show that affordability continues to drive first-time buyer activity, with the strongest price growth concentrated in areas where homeownership remains within reach.

“While demand remains strong in many northern English and Scottish markets, buyers still face challenges from higher mortgage costs, ongoing living expenses and saving for a deposit.

“The differences in price growth across the country highlight the influence of local market conditions, with affordable areas continuing to attract strong demand.”

Charlotte Harrison, chief executive of homes at Skipton Building Society, said: “The strong house price growth reflects the continued strength of demand in comparatively lower-cost northern markets, where many first-time buyers are prioritising flexibility, value and space.

“Our latest Skipton Group home affordability index shows average first‑time buyer deposits in the North of England equate to around half the level of London, and buyers in the North are also often able to secure larger homes than they require.”

Here are the top 10 areas with the fastest annual percentage increases in asking prices for a typical first-time buyer home, according to Rightmove. The figures show the average asking price followed by the annual increase:

=1. Bridlington, Yorkshire and the Humber, £167,321, 18%

=1. St Helens, North West, £133,106, 18%

3. Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland, £118,311, 17%

=4. Hartlepool, North East, £104,276, 12%

=4. Dewsbury, Yorkshire and the Humber, £130,133, 12%

=6. Greenock, Scotland, £93,998, 11%

=6. Inverness, Scotland, £167,009, 11%

=8. Great Yarmouth, East of England, £149,315, 9%

=8. Blackburn, North West, £116,735, 9%

10. Airdrie, Scotland, £106,472, 8%

And here are the 10 coldspots with the biggest asking price falls for first-time buyer homes, according to Rightmove:

1. Exeter, South West, £201,248, minus 20%

2. Derby, East Midlands, £143,043, minus 10%

3. Goring-by-Sea, Worthing, South East, £263,906, minus 9%

=4. Doncaster, Yorkshire and the Humber, £109,477, minus 8%

=4. Torquay, South West, £172,835, minus 8%

=6. Motherwell, Scotland, £108,458, minus 7%

=6. Southampton, South East, £187,443, minus 7%

=6. Parkstone, Poole, South West, £248,963, minus 7%

=9. Hove, South East, £326,783, minus 5%

=9. Poole, Dorset, South West, £244,175, minus 5%

Here are the most expensive first-time buyer hotspots for average asking prices, excluding London, according to Rightmove and the annual change: 

1. St Albans, East of England, £401,352, 2%

2. Epsom, South East, £374,376, 0%

3. Oxford, South East, £367,503, 5%

4. Clifton, Bristol, South West, £365,338, minus 1%

5. Cambridge, East of England, £351,126, 1%

6. Brentwood, East of England, £347,844, 7%

7. Hertford, East of England, £336,690, 1%

8. Bath, South West, £335,552, minus 4%

9. Wokingham, South East, £332,806, minus 1%

10. Hove, South East, £326,783, minus 5%

And here are the least expensive first-time buyer hotspots outside London, according to Rightmove:

1. Middlesbrough, North East, £90,929, minus 1%

2. Grimsby, Yorkshire and the Humber, £92,031, 2%

3. Kilmarnock, Scotland, £92,380, 4%

4. Greenock, Scotland, £93,998, 11%

5. Paisley, Scotland, £95,430, minus 2%

6. Irvine, Scotland, £96,768, 6%

7. Aberdeen, Scotland, £97,002, 2%

8. Stockton-on-Tees, North East, £97,680, minus 2%

9. Birkenhead, Wirral, North West, £100,179, 2%

10. Burnley, North West, £100,734, 0%