First-time buyer demand weakened across Great Britain in the second quarter of 2026, although Edinburgh, Liverpool and several other cities recorded stronger activity.

Research by Yopa found that 32.9% of homes suitable for first-time buyers had sold subject to contract during the quarter, compared with 34.8% in the first three months of the year.

The decline of 1.9 percentage points left national demand broadly unchanged from a year earlier, at 0.2 percentage points below its level in the second quarter of 2025.

Yopa calculated demand using the proportion of homes listed under buying schemes that had sold subject to contract as a share of the total available stock. It also examined how much of the wider housing stock was suitable for first-time buyers.

REGIONAL VARIATIONS

Swansea recorded the largest quarterly rise, with the proportion of suitable homes sold subject to contract increasing from 7.7% to 40%, a gain of 32.3 percentage points.

Demand in Liverpool rose by 24 percentage points to 60.8%, while Edinburgh recorded an increase of 14.7 percentage points to 69.2%. Bournemouth and Sheffield reported gains of 11.5 and 8.5 percentage points respectively.

Edinburgh had the highest overall level of first-time buyer demand among the markets examined. Liverpool ranked second, followed by Bristol, where 50.5% of suitable properties had sold subject to contract. Demand in Sheffield and Bournemouth stood at 50%.

The supply of suitable homes remained constrained. Properties considered appropriate for first-time buyers represented 1.7% of all homes listed for sale across Great Britain, down from 2.1% in the first quarter.

London and Southampton had the largest proportions of suitable stock, at 1.7% of their respective markets. Portsmouth followed at 1.6%, ahead of Leicester at 1.5% and Bristol at 1.4%.

Availability increased during the quarter in Leicester, Manchester, Nottingham and Southampton, but was unchanged or lower in many other areas.

STOCK CHALLENGE

Verona Frankish, chief executive of Yopa, said: “While we’ve seen first-time buyer demand ease slightly at a national level during the second quarter, the underlying picture remains encouraging, particularly across a number of regional markets where buyer appetite has strengthened considerably.

“The fact that demand remains strong in cities such as Edinburgh, Liverpool and Bristol demonstrates that many first-time buyers are still actively looking to enter the market when the right opportunities are available.

“However, one of the biggest challenges continues to be the lack of suitable stock. Across Britain, first-time buyer homes account for only a very small proportion of all properties available for sale and increasing supply remains essential if we want to improve accessibility and maintain market momentum over the longer term.”