It may seem like the battle is won once you have made your first hard-won step onto the property ladder, however, as families grown, and you accumulate more belongings… that first home can soon feel a little tight for space.
Research by Lloyds Bank has shown that at this stage, so-called ‘second steppers’ are finding it near impossible to make the leap from their first home, into their next, larger property.
Nearly 50% of homeowners say their equity position has improved over the past year and with research showing that second steppers boast an average equity of £150,068, there’s plenty of cash available in first time purchases - however one in three homeowners are still choosing to stay put, preferring to ‘improve rather than move’.
The average regional price gaps for second steppers in December 2016 are:
First time buyer avg. price | Second stepper avg. price | Price gap | |
North | £124,240 | £235,069 | £110,828 |
Yorkshire and the Humber | £136,398 | £297,720 | £131,321 |
North West | £144,888 | £283,236 | £138,348 |
East Midlands | £154,293 | £263,215 | £108,923 |
East Anglia | £196,950 | £326,902 | £129,952 |
Wales | £134,154 | £241,134 | £106,980 |
South West | £201,992 | £353,890 | £151,897 |
South East | £273,497 | £509,502 | £236,005 |
Greater London | £403,325 | £702,788 | £317,463 |
Northern Ireland | £116,230 | £185,283 | £69,053 |
Scotland | £137,880 | £247,125 | £109,245 |
UK | £205,723 | £331,796 | £126,073 |
Second steppers are telling us that finding the right property can be tough, and because of that, they're delaying their move. However, if too many second steppers hold out for a long time for their dream home this could reduce the availability of homes for first-time buyers and slow the market.
Andrew Mason, Lloyds Bank mortgage director
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