First time buyers in the housing market continue to be missed.  The lack of first time buyers is keeping the property ladder almost frozen as owners are not moving up the rungs to upgraded properties without buyers looking for starter homes. In a report from Rightmove of those planning to buy a new home 27% will be first time buyers.  This reported level is up 23% from a year ago and while planning to buy and actually buying mean two vastly different things to the market there could be hope for new demand from first time buyers.

The report also reported on analysis as to the background and financial position of the potential first time buyer and it showed that there were more potential buyers that had higher educations.  The expectation of higher levels of income could likely be a factor.  This should be noted by those entering and in school that their progress is likely to pay off on a personal level of making them a homeowner in the future if they graduate than not.

Miles Shipside, director and housing market analyst with Rightmove stated, “First-time buyers continue to be something of a rare breed in today’s market but our analysis reveals that higher education is currently the statistically most likely route to satisfying the home-ownership dream. Those school-leavers who are set to embark on a university education this autumn will be encouraged by the fact that further qualifications seem to be an important qualifying factor in getting onto the housing ladder."

Out of the respondents to the Rightmove survey that noted they expected to buy a home in the next 12 months 39% had graduate degrees and 30% had post-graduate degrees or the equivalent.  There was a two year difference between a school-leaver and graduate first time buyer average age with the average for a graduate looking to be a first time buyer at 30 and the average for a school-leaver at age 32.