Deposits vary by region for first time buyers.
- To buy a home in the UK, first-time buyers have an average deposit of between £26,400 and £144,500.
- The average deposit paid by a first-time buyer in the UK is 24% of the purchase price (UK Finance), with many putting down a larger deposit down for their first home.
- Most expensive is London, where the average deposit is £144,500, almost a third of the average sale price.
- Mortgages aimed at first-time buyers, such as the 100% deposit or the shared ownership scheme, can work out cheaper than renting and have helped many onto the property ladder. Source: #Dataloft (https://inform.dataloft.co.uk/), UK HPI, UK Finance.
Deposits vary by region for first time buyers. What are those Regional variants?
Deposits vary by region for first time buyers. Ain’t that the truth!
It is quite startling when you look at the differences of UK regions. Yes we all know that London is going to be way ‘out there’ when it comes to price. It is therefore absolutely no surprise that London’s first time buyers are looking further afield. Not only does London have the highest property prices, first time buyers stump up the highest deposit percentage. 32% or £144,000 on average!
At the other end of the scale, the North East is lowest with just 19% or £26,400. Less than 300 miles and yet property prices are on another planet!
What about Harlow?
Jukes Estate Agents are established Harlow Estate Agents with a wealth of local property knowledge. Co owner Geoff Flewers looked over these figures and thought that In Harlow, it was slightly different…
“These figures suggest that the average first time buyer in Harlow is putting down 25% deposit. We are not seeing that to be honest! We think that it is around 18% for Harlow. Depending on who’s figures you look at, that means around £55-£60,000 deposit.”
Co owner Lee Venables added…”This should not put first time buyers off! Obviously the higher the deposit, the lower the mortgage repayments will be. However, there are plenty of first time buyers just putting down 10%”.
With mortgage rates currently in the decline (as of 11.08.23), It is a slightly rosier picture than a few weeks ago.
If inflation keeps decreasing, so will mortgage rates.