Demand for first-time buyer (FTB) homes softened slightly across the UK in the second quarter, although several regional markets recorded strong growth, according to Yopa.

The hybrid estate agency found that the proportion of FTB properties sold subject to contract fell to 32.9% from 34.8% in the first quarter, but was broadly unchanged from a year earlier, just 0.2% down from Q2 2025.

Edinburgh recorded the strongest FTB demand, with 69.2% of suitable homes sold subject to contract, followed by Liverpool at 60.8% and Bristol at 50.5%. Swansea posted the largest quarterly improvement, with demand jumping to 40.0% from 7.7% in the previous quarter.

Yopa also found that the supply of FTB homes continued to shrink, accounting for just 1.7% of all properties listed for sale across the country, down from 2.1% in Q1. London and Southampton had the highest proportion of first-time buyer stock at 1.7%.

While demand has softened nationally, in many areas supply either remained unchanged or declined, which it said pointed to "the continued shortage of suitable stock available to those looking to take their first step onto the property ladder".

London and Southampton are home to the largest proportion of FTB suitable stock, where such homes account for 1.7% of all properties currently listed for sale. Portsmouth ranks next at 1.6%, followed by Leicester at 1.5% and Bristol at 1.4%.

Several markets saw an increase in the availability of FTB suitable homes versus the previous quarter, including Leicester, Manchester, Nottingham and Southampton.

Verona Frankish, CEO 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.

"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.”

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