Research shows first-time buyer numbers staying stable

April 14, 2026 by Brendan O'Neill

Surveys and Statistics

Those buying for the first time during Q1 made up roughly an equal percentage of the purchase market as in the same quarter last year, despite the turbulent mortgage market.

Yorkshire Building Society has analysed the figures for the quarter and they show that first-time buyers accounted for 54% of the purchase market. This is only a slight drop on the figure for the first quarter of 2025 – when they made up 56% of it. Furthermore, this figure was highest it has ever been, so should not be considered representative. The analysis uncovered more evidence of the resilience of the first-time buyer segment too.

It looked at the overall number of mortgage applications they submitted during Q1 compared with 2025. The results show the number is broadly similar, but there was a rise of 0.6%. What makes this even more encouraging is that application numbers were inflated last year by the looming stamp duty deadline.

Yorkshire Building Society based its analysis on figures taken from CACI, a tech and data consultancy. They indicate that the Iran war is not discouraging people from buying for the first time at the moment. The total number of applications from 29th December to 30th March was 126,448. During the same period in 2025, it was 125,648.

Max Shepherd works for the building society as its group economist. He told Financial Reporter:

“This year’s comparatively modest increase in first-time buyer applications shows resilience in difficult conditions, but confidence remains fragile.”

Mortgage advisors with CeMAP training will be watching for the Q2 figures with interest.