She adds that downsizers are particularly at risk as the stock of suitable homes is limited by first-time buyers who are trapped with insufficient equity to move into a larger property. “When first‑time buyers find it harder to move up, and downsizers are also unable to move, it can create a sticking point,” she says.
Property transactions in January were 3pc lower than a year earlier and 24pc lower than December, according to the latest HMRC figures.
Rightmove says the cause of the widening gulf between first and second-step homes is predominantly a consequence of price growth rates for different types of properties.
Over the last decade, the average price of a flat – which continues to make up a large proportion of first-time buyer purchases – has risen by just 8pc. House prices, on the other hand, have jumped by 34pc, figures from the property portal show.
This is most pronounced in London, where a large proportion of the housing market is made up of flats which have experienced much slower price growth relative to houses.
