According to Landsbankinn, in the third quarter this year, almost 34 percent of all buyers of residential housing in the capital area were buying their first apartment. The proportion has never been higher, reports Vísir.
Landsbankinn’s data show that number of first-time buyers was 983 people in total during the third quarter. Although the percentage of first-time buyers compared to all the buyers has never been higher, the number of them decreased from the first quarter. Then, the number of all apartment buyers was higher in general, and a record number of first-time buyers was set, since 1,354 people bought their first apartment in the first quarter.
According to Landsbankinn, there was a fairly noticable increase in the number of first-time buyers when the pandemic hit, as interest rates fell at the same time as many people’s savings and purchasing power increased.
Along with the increased number of first-time buyers, their average age has decreased since the pandemic. In the second quarter of last year, the average age dropped to 29 years. It has not been as low since 2006. The average age of first-time buyers has remained low throughout the past year and was 29.2 years in the third quarter this year.
Unsurprisingly, there is a considerable correlation between the age of the first buyers and the size of the apartments they buy. As the age of the first buyers has dropped, so has the average size of the apartments. Last year, the average apartment size for first-time buyers was 94 square meters, which is approximately 38 square meters smaller compared to the apartments that are bought by other groups.
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