The property market has seen an increase in activity since the beginning of 2018, with new reports showing a 20% rise in sellers during the month of February.

Recent data from HouseSimple.com detailed the total number of new estate agent listings and recorded a rise from 56,041 in January to 67,182 in February. Supply was up 40% in January 2018, which is an increase of 2.5% when compared to the same period last year.

The study found that 93% of towns and cities saw growth in the number of sellers coming to the market, with the city of Dundee recording a substantial 82.2% rise in new listings. Similar activity was seen throughout Scotland, as Edinburgh and Glasgow saw a jump of 75.9% and 53.3% respectively.

Other areas in the UK also saw a considerable increase in new listings, such as Hereford with 80.3%, Bath with 70.9%, along with the town of Rotherham showing growth of 67.1% in new sellers.

In the capital, new listings were up from 24,004 to 27,573 in February, a 14.9% increase, which is just short of the UK average, but still a positive sign for the city of London.

There were some cities and towns that recorded a fall from month-to-month, with Rugby seeing the largest fall (16.4%), along with Stevenage (14.5%) and Oldham (12.2%).

CEO of HouseSimple.com – Sam Mitchell – offered his comments on the findings of their data, stating; “It’s encouraging to see that a healthy January in terms of replenishing stock levels has been followed by a strong February. However, before we crack open the champagne, we do need to put this increase into perspective. The number of new sellers marketing last month was actually only 2.5% higher than the corresponding month in 2017. This suggests that rather than a sudden rush of sellers, that we have simply seen normal seller numbers in January and February after an extremely slow December.

“The cold hard facts are that the property market is still in dire need of more stock, but at least stock levels are going in the right direction and sellers should hopefully be encouraged by signs that buyers are showing more intent to make offers. The next couple of months, as we enter the Spring period, will be crucial to maintain momentum, and especially this year as Brexit rhetoric ramps up. The market has proved robust enough to deflect Brexit concerns so far, but a slow Spring could leave the market vulnerable if the UK economy begins to stutter.”

New research has found that mortgage payments account for less than a third of a homeowner’s disposable income, with mortgages reaching their most affordable level since 2007.

The recent research from Halifax has shown that during the fourth quarter of 2017, the average mortgage payments in the UK accounted for 29% of the owner’s disposable income.

When the same statistic was recorded in 2007, monthly mortgage payments took up 48% of disposable income, meaning there has been a 40% fall in mortgage affordability levels for home buyers since the peak seen in 2007.

According to Halifax, record low mortgage rates are responsible for the improving affordability levels as average rates dropped from 2.09% to 1.98% across last year.

With house prices rising recently by an average of 3%, affordability was still improving at the tail end of 2017.

Just under 75% of all the districts included in the study recorded an improvement in affordability of at least 15% over the last 10 years and 35 districts saw mortgage payments fall by at least 30% over the same period.

As a result of the considerable fall in house prices, Northern Ireland saw the greatest improvements in affordability, currently standing 44% lower than 2007.

Within the UK, the North West and Scotland had the most frequently listed areas in the top 10 most affordable places to live, with the South East and London dominating the other end of the table.

The research found that Brent and Haringey were the least affordable places to live, with mortgage payments taking up 61% of disposable income on average. At the other end of the spectrum, the findings showed a considerable difference when compared to such areas as Copeland, Cumbria, where only 15% of disposable income is used for mortgage repayments.

Mortgage Director at Halifax, Andy Bickers, commented on their findings, saying that whether you’re a first-time buyer or already a homeowner, these latest statistics are good news “This is a real boost for both those who already have a mortgage and those preparing to take their first step on to the property ladder. Improved mortgage affordability has been a key factor supporting housing demand and helping to stimulate the modest recovery that we are currently seeing.”

"In recent months we have seen the number of first-time buyers and homemovers purchasing a home with a mortgage bounce back towards 2007 levels, and mortgage payments becoming a much smaller proportion of disposable income across most of the country will also support a healthy market with more choice and opportunity for buyers/borrowers.”

It looks like now is a great time to be taking your first step onto the property ladder as new reports have revealed a sharp rise in the number of first-time buyers taking advantage of the support available to them.

It seems that the abolishment of stamp duty, coupled with Help-to-Buy schemes, has had quite the impact on the UK property market, as many experts within the industry are reporting a surge in activity from young prospective owners.

UK Finance has reported that 2017 saw 365,000 buyers purchase their first home, which is a considerable increase of 7.4% on the previous year and the largest recorded amount of first-time buyers since 2007/08, pre-financial crisis.

Earlier reports this year from Savills revealed that approximately 40,000 first-time buyers had decided to take advantage of the potential &5,000 savings since the scrapping of stamp duty.

So how much does the average home cost for a first-time buyer?

According to the latest statistics provided by Halifax and analysed by sellhousefast.uk, the cost of the average home in England and Wales for a first-time buyer is &200,166.

The cheapest area in the UK to purchase a home for the first time appears to be the North East with an average price tag of &126,437.

In second place, with a slightly higher average value is Wales, where first-time buyers can expect to pay &139,875. Similar property prices can be found in Yorkshire and the Humber with homes valued at &139,970.

House prices seem to increase as you move further south, with the South West and the South East breaking the &200,000 mark, with homes costing &205,333 and &207,103, respectively.

As expected the area with the highest prices for first-time buyers was Greater London, boasting average values of &422,580, more than three times the amount of the North East.

While some of these prices may seem staggering to prospective owners, the recent figures showing the rise in first-time buyers suggest that it is possible to get on the ladder.

It is clear the recent schemes and support from the Government have helped give the upcoming generation a bit of leg-up and many are clearly taking advantage of this period of low mortgage rates.