Estate agents back giving FTBs ‘first dibs’ over landlords
Among all of Labour’s proposals for the housing market, agents give top-ranking to handing first-time buyers the ability to buy new homes before investors.
Estate agents back many of Labour’s proposals to get the housing market motoring again but one in particularly has gained their praise, a new survey has revealed.
The survey by GetAgent.co.uk found that giving first-time buyers the ability to buy new homes before investors polled highest within the property industry, although it’s not a new idea – Boris Johnson tried to bring it in during 2019.
After polling 1,000 estate agents it found that a marginal majority (56%) believe that the change of government will be positive for the housing market.
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The election was widely predicted to have little impact on market sentiment or activity, and that seems to be the case, with agents yet to see any notable post-election bounce. Just one in five (19%) stated there had been an increase in market activity since July 4th
Agents are considerably more optimistic about the longer-term prospects for the market, with 63% anticipating an uplift in the coming months.
The biggest stumbling block was said to be interest rates. The base rate has yet to fall and higher mortgage rates are stifling buyer purchasing power. As a result just 42% of agents believe that any future increase in market activity will result in a higher rate of house price growth.
It’s likely to be a cut to interest rates that really revitalises the market.
Other Labour initiatives that ranked highly included the reform of the planning system and the (new) target of 1.85 million new homes, as did leasehold reform.

Co-founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, says: “The election result doesn’t seem to have been a floodgate moment in this respect and while many estate agents believe the result to be a positive one, it’s likely to be a cut to interest rates that really revitalises the market.
“The good news is that this seems very much on the horizon and preparation is key when it comes to setting the foundations required to capitalise on such a surge in market activity, both with respect to the available stock on agents’ books and the suitable resources in place to cope with the increase in workload.”