Oxford First Time Buyers borrow £76.2m in the last 12 months

Over the last 12 months in the UK, 1,061,557 properties were sold with a total value of £223.74 bn. To give that some context, ten years ago 1,581,727 properties sold with a total value of £405.56bn, so it can be seen the number of people moving house has dropped by over a third over the last decade.

Whether you are a landlord, homeowner or tenant, it’s always important to keep an eye on the Oxford property market.  Over the last 12 months, 1,586 properties have sold (and completed) in Oxford, worth £780.9m. Interestingly the number of properties changing hands in Oxford has also dropped when compared to a decade ago.

It might also surprise you that first time buyers in 2017 will benefit from a decline in purchases by Oxford buy-to-let investors.

Those looking to buy a home in the spring of 2017 will face a far less competitive Oxford property market than the same time of year in 2016, when the urgency to beat the buy-to-let stamp duty hike was in full swing

Many landlords brought forward their purchases to beat the tax, and since then, the number of buy-to-let purchases has dropped by around 12%. First time buyers have taken advantage of that and have increased their buying. In fact, looking at the Bank of England figures, this is what UK lenders have lent on buy-to-let properties versus first time buyers over the last 12 months:

When looking at the figures for Oxford itself, first time buyers have borrowed more than £76.2m in the last 12 months to buy their first home. This is a ringing endorsement of their confidence in their jobs and the local Oxford economy. Those 20 and 30 something’s who are considering being first time buyers in 2017 will find that the number of properties on the market has never been as good as it has for quite a while, meaning you have more choice of properties and less competition from so many buy-to-let landlords.

Rightmove announced nationally that new seller enquiries are 26% up on the same time last year giving the stoutest indication that we may see a slight ease in the lack of properties on the market. When I look at the Oxford market, at this moment in time there are an impressive 729 properties for sale, so plenty of choice, which is welcome news to all potential buyers.

2017 will be an interesting year for homeowners, be they buy-to-let landlords, existing homeowners or future homeowners.