The cost of living crisis is making would-be home buyers so nervous that they are putting their purchase on the back burner, latest research from Yorkshire Building Society reveals.

The YBS’ Housing Britain report found that a quarter (27%) of all homebuyers are putting off the purchase but when it comes to first-time buyers, the number was even higher, with a third (33%) saying it was just too expensive to buy a home.

UK economic volatility and rising house prices are other major factors deterring would-be buyers.”

The last set of figures from ONS showed a 12.4% year-on-year increase, compared to 9.7% the previous month, as demand continued to outstrip supply.

Ben Merritt, director of mortgages at Yorkshire Building Society, says: “The crisis is now being felt across the population and filtering through to all aspects of life and with inflation now at 9%, it is showing no signs of abating.”

WARNING

The report is a dire warning for agents and comes as HMRC reported that the number of residential property transactions in June stood at 96,290, down 3.1% on May.

Worryingly, transactions were down 55.1% on June last year, although 2021 was boosted by purchases in anticipation of the first stamp duty deadline.

Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential agent, says: “The latest numbers show how the cost of living crisis and rising interest rates in particular have contributed to an increase in the length and reduction in the number of transactions.”

But Nick Leeming, chairman of Jackson-Stops, adds: “If we look at these figures across the past five years, clocking up just over 95,000 transaction in June still sits comfortably close to the pre-pandemic 100,000 monthly average.”