Demand from first-time buyers has fallen sharply across most major UK cities this year with Nottingham recording the steepest decline, according to new research by hybrid estate agency Yopa.
The analysis measured demand by tracking the proportion of homes listed under government-backed buying schemes that have sold subject to contract. Just 1.8% of all homes currently for sale qualify under such schemes, Yopa said.
Nationally, demand for first-time buyer properties fell to 32.3% in the third quarter of 2025, down from 34% at the start of the year.
Bristol (51.6%), Liverpool (44.3%) and Leeds (42.5%) remained the most active markets, though all have cooled since January.
SHARPEST DROP
Nottingham has seen the sharpest drop in first-time buyer demand, falling from 65.5% to 26.7% – a decline of nearly 39 percentage points.
Cardiff (-28.5%), Edinburgh (-28.0%), Newcastle (-23.7%), Liverpool (-19.2%) and Leeds (-16.4%) also recorded notable decreases. Leicester, Bournemouth and Birmingham were the only cities to post modest gains.
FIRST-TIME BUYER BOOST
Verona Frankish, chief executive of Yopa, says: “Stronger wage growth and improvements to both the range and affordability of mortgage products in recent months have both helped to boost the ability of first-time buyers when it comes to climbing the property ladder.”
And she adds: “However, the high cost of homeownership remains a significant barrier and, since the start of the year, first-time buyer demand levels have fallen across all but a handful of major cities.
“Should the Government introduce a stamp duty shake-up in the upcoming Autumn Budget, it would help to significantly boost first-time buyer activity.
“Unfortunately, this is likely to be wishful thinking, but at the very least, we need to see more homes become available with the added boost of a buying scheme in order to help stimulate the market.”
