FTBs kick-starting mortgage revival

In Q1, 58% of valuations carried out by Connells Survey & Valuation were for first-time buyers, up from 42% in the same period of 2008. In the second quarter, as other buyers began to follow suit, first-time buyers fell to 53% of all transactions, and by July, this had dipped to 46%. The recent decline in the proportion of first-time buyers comes against a backdrop of an overall increase in the number of house purchases. Home movers increased their share from just 35% of mortgage valuations to 44% by July. There is heightened activity on the buy-to-let sector too, where investors h...