First-time buyer completions in November are up 15% compared to October, according to research from Your Move and Reeds Rains.
The surge, which totalled 34,300 and is the highest monthly number since the recession, has been caused by a fall in average mortgage rates to a four-year low of 3.92%, driving down mortgage repayments and boosting activity.
Average first-time buyer deposits fell by 4% year-on-year to £25,991 in November.
The average first-time buyer purchase price rose 4% year-on-year to £151,020 in November. However, over the same period mortgage repayments fell from 20.9% to 20.2% as a proportion of income.
Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, comments: “Record low rates have set off a blast of first-time buyers over the last month, with the number of completions climbing upwards to reach a post-recession high.
“Mortgage rates are slipping downwards, helped by low inflation and growing certainty that an upwards revision of the base rate is moving away from the horizon of the New Year and deep into 2015.”
