Mortgage costs have risen £400 a month since the last election

First-time buyers are spending £400 more per month on mortgage repayments than at the time of the last general election, analysis shows.

The typical refund has risen from £667 in 2019 to £1,075, according to Rightmove, when Boris Johnson won a landslide victory. That is an increase of 61 percent in a period when wages have risen by 27 percent.

It aptly illustrates the financial pressures facing those taking their first step onto the housing ladder, with Rishi Sunak pointing to healthy GDP growth and falling inflation as evidence his plan is working.

And the figures are likely to be seized upon by Labor as the party looks to destroy the Conservatives’ record on the economy, especially under Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss. Rightmove looked at the typical cost of a five-year mortgage with a 25-year fixed term and a loan-to-value ratio of 80 percent.

The average interest on such mortgages has more than doubled since 2019 from 2.24 percent to 5.09 percent.

At the same time, the average price of a home bought for the first time has risen by 19 percent to £227,757. Tim Bannister of Rightmove said: ‘As interest rates have risen over the past five years, the amount a typical first-time buyer pays on a mortgage each month is outpacing the rate of earnings growth.

‘Some first-time buyers are considering extending their mortgage term to 30 or 35 years to reduce monthly costs, or looking at cheaper homes for sale so that they have to borrow less.’

Mortgage rates set by lenders generally follow the expected path of Bank of England rates. Rates have increased since 2021 due to high inflation – largely caused by the war in Ukraine.

However, the most notable rise in mortgage rates came as a result of the market turmoil following Ms Truss’ mini-budget in autumn 2022.

Now that inflation has fallen back to its target of 2 percent, the Bank appears close to a rate cut – but last week it decided to leave it unchanged for the time being.