First time buyers have been at the bottom of a mountain looking up for years. The group has faced rising housing prices, difficulty affording the deposit on property, and challenges to obtaining approval. Now, in many regions across the country the seller market has switched to a buyer market. A recently released report indicates first timers are seeing opportunities open with house sellers dropping their prices in an effort to speed up the selling process.

Almost 40% of home owners attempting to sell their properties have dropped their price, according to housing website Zoopla. This is compared to 29% which stood at a time just prior to the Brexit vote of last year. House sellers in Richmond and Kingston in south west London have slashed prices hardest according to the latest figures.

Brexit is being blamed on the price cutting. Uncertainty following the vote along with rising inflation, stagnant wage growth, and an abundance of those in the housing market abstaining from making big decisions on transactions.

The same factors are expected to affect house buying decisions in the year 2018, according to housing experts.

Through research Zoopla discovered many property prices had been dropped by more than £80,000. This is especially true in many properties in London and the region just outside the capital city.

Lawrence Hall with Zoopla commented on the latest data and what it means to first time buyers, saying: “A slight rise in levels of discounting is to be expected at this time of year when house-hunters are likely to be delaying their property search until activity picks up in January.”