The latest forecasts by property firm Zoopla have indicated that despite a rise in demand earlier this year, first-time buyers will make up around 33.9% of home purchases for this year, a decrease from a 10-year high of 34.9% last year.

If this prediction proves correct, it will mark the first decline in house sales for first-time buyers since 2015. Zoopla’s report said their ability to buy a home had been negatively affected by the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in the reduced availability of higher loan-to-value mortgages.

Last year, 90%-plus mortgages accounted for about a fifth of mortgages in the UK/ However, since the lockdown restrictions were implemented, large mortgage lenders have started withdrawing from 90%-plus deals, as worries over falling house prices and arrears rise.

Zoopla forecasts that existing homeowners looking to move house will account for a larger proportion of purchases than first-time buyers for the whole of 2020, at about 35%. The property firm expects this trend to continue into 2021, with first-time buyers set to account for 32.2% of new home sales compared with 35.9% for existing homeowners, The Guardian reports.

Richard Donnell, Zoopla’s research and insight director, said: “A change in the mix of buyers is supporting market conditions with sustained demand from equity-rich existing owners seeking more space and a change in location.

“In contrast, first-time buyer demand is weaking. First-time buyers have been driving a force of housing sales over the last decade. They remain a key buyer group but lower availability of higher loan-to-value mortgages and increased movement by existing home-owners means a shift in the mix of homebuyers into 2021.”