First-time buyers are charging as much as £53,414 on average to get onto the property ladder, the latest figures from lender Halifax show.
This amount fell by £9,057 last year – while the typical price paid by first-time buyers also fell by £13,869 to £288,136.
But how much buyers pay varies greatly depending on where you are in the country.
Search for your municipality in our table below to see how much first-time buyers in your area put down as a down payment and how much they typically pay for their home. The data is compiled by Halifax from its own figures, but also from those of Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland, which are part of the same group.
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Where starters need the most and the least
Unsurprisingly, London remains one of the most expensive places to gain a foothold in the market. If you want to buy in Westminster, an eye-wateringly high deposit of £159,348 may be required for that £677,663 loophole, which may only buy you a modest one or two-bedroom flat.
Outside the capital, some of the best prices can be found in the North East, such as the city of Middlesbrough. Here, first-time buyers pay an average of €154,448 and require a much lower deposit of €27,225.
This allows you to buy a three-bedroom semi-detached house. A year ago, homes for first-time buyers in Middlesbrough were significantly lower on average: £172,665 with a deposit of £31,302.
On the ladder… for less: According to Halifax, home prices and down payments for first-time buyers fell last year
Philip Mount, from east London-based estate agency Churchill Estates, said: ‘There is a lack of supply for first-time buyers, which is keeping prices high. Unfortunately, most people these days need parental support – some help from mum and dad’s bank – to get a foot on the property ladder.
‘Young people could end up paying £1,200 a month to rent a studio apartment in the capital. So they have difficulty keeping enough money to save for a first home deposit.’
The Halifax research shows that in London the average first buyer deposit is £108,848 for a house costing £492,234. Five years ago, before the pandemic, it was £110,109 for a £422,006 first home in London.
Mount says: ‘The slight decrease in the amount required for a deposit can only be good news. We hope this will be a better year, with early indications that mortgage rates will fall as we get a handle on inflation and the Bank of England cuts the base rate. Because it is an election year, there may also be tax breaks in the Spring Budget that could boost the housing market.’
A two-bedroom ground floor apartment in a Victorian house in Wanstead, east London, is for sale for £500,000
What starters on the market get for their money
First home options currently available through Churchill Estates include a two-bedroom ground floor apartment in a Victorian house in Wanstead, East London, for £500,000, and a two-bedroom period property in nearby Woodford, Essex, which costs £475,000.
In contrast, property searches in Middlesbrough revealed that houses for sale through estate agent Clarke Munro found comparable properties at much lower prices. For example, a two-bedroom terraced house can be bought for €85,000, while you can buy a three-bedroom semi-detached house for €155,000.
For £450,000 you can buy a modern three-bedroom detached bungalow or a four-bedroom semi-detached family home.
The Halifax research found the lowest deposit needs are in the North East, following a 3 per cent decline in a year.
The biggest fall in the deposit amount needed to buy a house was 16 per cent in the East Midlands, at £36,139.
In the city of Leicester, the average first deposit for a house costing €244,995 is €41,447. Last year, first-time buyers in Leicester gave £3,032 more as a deposit, despite the average price not being much lower at just £244,379.
Kim Kinnaird, director of Halifax Mortgages, said: “The fall in house prices last year will go some way to helping people get onto the property ladder for the first time. But these buyers are still dependent on housing supply – and are under constant pressure to save for a down payment.”
She adds: ‘Although the number of starters fell to around 293,000 last year, they still accounted for 53 percent of all home loans taken out. To afford to buy a property, 63 percent of completions were made in joint names, with the purchase shared by two or more people. This is one percentage point more than last year.’
According to Halifax’s analysis, the average first-time buyer is 32 years old (up from 30 a decade ago) and properties purchased are 6.7 times the average UK salary of £43,257 per year.
Terraced houses are the most popular among first-time buyers: 30 percent of the first homes sold. But due to affordability, apartments are often the first property purchased. In expensive regions, such as London, they account for more than two-thirds of new-build homes.
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