Rightmove reveals how much first-time buyers will have to pay for a home in the North West

Rightmove reveal just how much you can expect to pay as a first-time buyer in your region.

Latest studies by Rightmove show that the North West has seen the biggest annual rise in property prices for first-time buyer homes with two or fewer bedrooms. 

The average asking price in the North West is up 8.6% over the past 12 months, the biggest increase in any region across Great Britain. 

The second biggest increase is seen in Yorkshire and The Humber with prices up 8.4%, followed by the West Midlands at 7.0%.

The average asking price for a first-time buyer is £200,578, up 3.9% compared to 12 months ago, equating to an annual rise of £7,475.

The average asking price in the North West in January 2021 is £144.453.

The only region where the asking price exceeds £400k is in the capital where the average is £474,950. However, London is the only region where first-time buyer property prices have fallen year on year with prices down 1.4% compared to a year ago. 

Rightmove

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s data expert said: “Many people are deciding that 2021 is the year to get their foot on the property ladder, and this research provides an insightful snapshot into the first-time buyer sector across the British property market right now.

“What’s interesting for me is that, despite the higher asking prices in London, first-time buyers in the capital appear to have a window of opportunity to negotiate a good deal, with this being the only region to have seen average first-time buyer asking prices fall over the past 12 months.

“Conversely, sellers in the North West who are looking to trade up and move into a bigger home are in a strong position, with average asking prices for first-time buyer properties having jumped by 8.6% during the same period, which is a good indicator of a strong market.”

Richard Powell, Director at Ryder & Dutton with branches across East Lancashire, North Manchester and West Yorkshire, said: “I think first-time buyer homes have seen a boom in property prices because demand is outstripping supply.

“We’ve less properties for sale per branch than at any time since the late 1980s, which of course causes prices to rise. Having said that, people still want to buy homes and in many cases it’s no more expensive to buy in the North West than to rent, especially with low mortgage rates available.

“The North West possibly has a greater stock of properties that are more easily accessible for first-time buyers – places such as Oldham, Rochdale, Bury and Blackburn – these big, former mill towns have lots of terraced properties around the £100,000 to £200,000 mark that are available to buy.

“And coupled with more Help to Buy schemes and new-build developments, it’s probably easier to become a first-time buyer in this part of the world than many other regions, which also helps to push prices up.

“We’ve also seen a reluctance from people in their first homes to move up the ladder because they haven’t had confidence in the market to do so. Over the past four years or so with Brexit and now Covid, we’re seeing a lot of pent-up supply as well as pent-up demand.”

We chatted to a property expert last week to find out the top six places to buy in Greater Manchester this year, including Salford, Prestwich and Ancoats! See more here.