First-time buyer demand softened during the third quarter of 2026, according to research by Yopa.

The estate agent found that 31.7% of homes suitable for first-time buyers sold, subject to contract, in Q3.

That was a drop of 1.3 percentage points from 32.9% in Q2 of 2026.

The government is set to launch a new first-time buyer scheme in next month’s Budget that will help borrowers get onto the ladder with a deposit of just 2.5%.

The Your First Home initiative will provide 20% government-backed equity loans, similar to Help to Buy, to enable borrowers to buy a new-build property from a developer who is signed up to the scheme.

However, Yopa argues that increasing demand does not address the problem of supply.

Yopa research found that suitable homes for the scheme make up just 1.8% of properties currently for sale across Great Britain.

That was a slight rise on the 1.7% listed for sale in Q2, but unchanged on Q3 of 2025.

For these figures, Yopa looked at properties that were marketed with the help of a buying scheme.

Liverpool logged the highest level of demand from first-time buyers among the locations analysed by Yopa. Around 51% of suitable homes had already been bought in Q3.

Sheffield followed at 44.7%, then Leicester at 44.6%.

Yopa chief executive Verona Frankish said: “While we’ve seen first-time buyer demand ease slightly at a national level during the third quarter, the underlying picture remains mixed, with a number of regional markets continuing to demonstrate strong levels of buyer activity.

“The fact that demand remains strong in cities such as Liverpool, Sheffield, Leicester and Manchester demonstrates that many first-time buyers are still actively looking to enter the market when the right opportunities are available. At the same time, the significant variation between markets highlights that the experience of first-time buyers continues to differ considerably depending on where they are looking.

“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. While there has been a slight improvement in availability this quarter, increasing the supply of suitable homes remains essential if we want to improve accessibility and maintain market momentum over the longer term.”