First-time buyer demand softened during the second quarter of 2026, although several cities recorded substantial increases in activity, latest research from Yopa reveals.
Across Great Britain, 32.9% of homes identified as suitable for first-time buyers had been sold subject to contract, compared with 34.8% in the first quarter.
The 1.9 percentage point quarterly decline left demand broadly unchanged annually, sitting only 0.2 points below its Q2 2025 level.
Yopa used the proportion of eligible listings already sold subject to contract as a proxy for demand, rather than measuring enquiries, mortgage approvals or completed purchases.
REGIONAL GROWTH
Swansea recorded the largest quarterly increase, with the proportion of suitable homes finding buyers rising from 7.7% to 40%.
Liverpool posted a 24 percentage point increase to 60.8%, while Edinburgh’s figure climbed by 14.7 points to 69.2%.
Bournemouth and Sheffield recorded quarterly improvements of 11.5 and 8.5 percentage points respectively.
Edinburgh had the strongest overall first-time buyer demand among the locations analysed, followed by Liverpool.
Bristol ranked third at 50.5%, while half of the suitable properties listed in both Sheffield and Bournemouth had found buyers.
LIMITED STOCK
Homes classified as suitable for first-time buyers represented only 1.7% of all properties listed for sale across Great Britain, down from 2.1% in the previous quarter.
London and Southampton recorded the highest proportion of suitable stock, although this still represented just 1.7% of their respective markets.
Portsmouth followed at 1.6%, with Leicester at 1.5% and Bristol at 1.4%.
The availability of eligible homes increased in Leicester, Manchester, Nottingham and Southampton but remained unchanged or declined across many other locations.
RIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Verona Frankish (main picture), Chief Executive Officer at Yopa, says: “While we’ve seen first-time buyer demand ease slightly at a national level during the second quarter, the underlying picture remains encouraging, particularly across a number of regional markets where buyer appetite has strengthened considerably.
“The fact that demand remains strong in cities such as Edinburgh, Liverpool and Bristol demonstrates that many first-time buyers are still actively looking to enter the market when the right opportunities are available.
“However, one of the biggest challenges continues to be the lack of suitable stock. Across Britain, first-time buyer homes account for only a very small proportion of all properties available for sale, and increasing supply remains essential if we want to improve accessibility and maintain market momentum over the longer term.”
