First-time buyer demand drops amid supply shortage – Yopa

First-time buyer demand eased during the three months from April to June this year, despite a few regional boosts.

Estate agency brand Yopa analysed first-time buyer demand based on the proportion of homes listed under Government and industry schemes that have already sold subject to contract as a percentage of total available stock.

The research shows that across Britain as a whole, 32.9% of first-time buyer suitable homes had found a buyer in the second quarter of 2026, down from 34.8% in the first three months of the year.

First-time buyer demand

Demand was broadly unchanged on an annual basis, sitting only 0.2 percentage points below the level recorded in the second quarter of 2025.

Swansea has seen the largest quarterly increase in first-time buyer demand, with the proportion of suitable homes sold subject to contract climbing from 7.7% in the first three months of the year compared to 40% in the following quarter.

Buyers are still actively looking to enter the market when the right opportunities are available.”

Liverpool also recorded a significant uplift, with demand rising by 24 percentage points in the quarter to 60.8%, while Edinburgh saw demand increase by 14.7 percentage points to 69.2%.

Bournemouth and Sheffield also posted notable quarterly improvements, with demand increasing by 11.5 and 8.5 percentage points respectively.

Despite mixed quarterly performance across Britain, Edinburgh is home to the strongest level of first-time buyer demand overall, with 69.2% of suitable homes having already found a buyer in the second quarter.

Liverpool ranks second at 60.8%, while Bristol sits third – where 50.5% of suitable homes have sold subject to contract. Sheffield and Bournemouth also recorded demand of 50%.

Whilst demand has softened the level of suitable first-time buyer stock remains an issue.

Popular cities

Across Britain as a whole, such properties account for just 1.7% of all homes currently listed for sale, down from 2.1% in the first three months of 2026, Yopa said.

Verona Frankish (pictured), Chief Executive of Yopa, (pictured) says: “While we’ve seen first-time buyer demand ease slightly at a national level during the second quarter, the underlying picture remains encouraging, particularly across a number of regional markets where buyer appetite has strengthened considerably.

“The fact that demand remains strong in cities such as Edinburgh, Liverpool and Bristol demonstrates that many first-time buyers are still actively looking to enter the market when the right opportunities are available.

“However, one of the biggest challenges continues to be the lack of suitable stock. Across Britain, first-time buyer homes account for only a very small proportion of all properties available for sale and increasing supply remains essential if we want to improve accessibility and maintain market momentum over the longer term.”