With second steppers struggling to find the cash to move up the ladder and potential downsizers determinedly staying put, first timers are now in the spotlight as London’s most powerful group of buyers.

Almost half of all homes sold in the capital in the past year have been to newbies on the housing ladder; in some areas it’s almost three quarters, according to exclusive new research from Hamptons International.

The proportion of homes sold to first-time buyers has been on the up since the start of the recession. In 2008 they were responsible for just under a quarter of all home purchases, rising to 37 per cent in 2012 and 44 per cent so far this year.

“I think downsizers are still struggling to come to terms with the value of their properties, and second steppers are caught because there is a big step between a flat and a house,” says Narendra Gandhi, a partner at Winkworth.

“First-time buyers are relatively more active because there is still money coming from the Bank of Mum and Dad, and if you have got two people buying together they may have been able to amass a deposit together.”

Typically, adds Gandhi, first-time buyers in W3, for example, are thirtysomething, looking for a home they can stay in for at least the medium term, and are very price-conscious.

“They are driving very hard bargains,” he says.

Top spots: Wembley and Alperton, HA0

The research found that the top postcode for London’s first-time buyers is HA0, a swathe of north-west London hugging the North Circular road, and the focus of major housebuilding at both Wembley and Alperton.

New homes means Help to Buy London, and this Government-sponsored vehicle for assisting buyers without gigantic deposits on to the housing ladder is the key reason for the area’s popularity.

Almost three quarters of homes there are sold to novice buyers, who spend an average of just under £404,000.

London’s top 20 first-time buyer postcodes

Source: Hamptons International and ONS

Top spots: Tottenham, N17

Another regeneration option, Tottenham is equally popular. Again 74 per cent of homes in the N17 postcode are being sold to first-time buyers at a marginally more affordable £396,000 average spend.

Mustafa Khalifa, director of Hunters, says first-time buyers are funnelling northwards into N17 after being priced out of more-expensive South Tottenham, N15, and tend to cluster at the fringes of the two postcodes.

Buyers seeking Victorian conversion flats try the streets close to Downhills Park, where a two-bedroom home would cost £370,000 to £430,000, or Tottenham Hale where the current crop of new-build two-bedroom flats cost £400,000 to £450,000.

“I remember what Tottenham used to be like, but now when you walk around it is all young professionals and families,” says Khalifa. “You’ve got great transport links, Walthamstow Wetlands — and there is just a lot more to do.”
More first-time buyer hotspots

Third place in the league table is the more central, more expensive north London postcode N4, which covers Finsbury Park, Manor House, Harringay and Stroud Green.

First-time buyers account for 73 per cent of all sales in N4, with the average spend increasing to £597,000.

More affluent first timers, meanwhile, are heading to the outer fringes of west London for great transport links, social life, and open spaces.

The most popular option, taking fourth spot in the league table is Hammersmith, W6, with an average first timer spend leaping to £866,000.

For a similar vibe for a lot less money, Crossrail-friendly Acton is also seeing first-time buyer investment: 68 per cent of homes are sold to starter-buyers who spend an average £599,000.

Gandhi of Winkworth believes the lure of the Elizabeth line, coming to Acton’s mainline station, is encouraging buyers. “They still feel that it is a good investment,” he says.

First timers are keen on the Gunnersbury Triangle, where you can pick up a freehold, three-bedroom house for about £700,000.

Around Acton station a two-bedroom period apartment will cost in the region of £450,000 to £500,000 and Gandhi says first timers are very keen on an extra bedroom.

“In some cases they are looking to rent it out.”