According to research by Yes Homebuyers, the average FTB house price is £209,163, therefore the monitory value of a 15% deposit comes at £31,374
The average time it takes for a first time buyer (FTB) to buy a home has gone up by three years in some parts of Britain, according to Yes Homebuyers.
The firm looked at the cost of the average FTB mortgage deposit at 15% of the current average FTB house price.
It then looked at the time it takes to save for this deposit based on saving 20% of a FTBs net monthly income and how this has changed since 2012.
The average FTB house price is £209,163, therefore the monitory value of a 15% deposit comes at £31,374, the research shows.
Moreover, the average FTB’s net monthly income is £1,970, saving 20% of which equates to £394.
As a result, it is currently taking the average first time buyer in Britain 6.6 years to save for a mortgage deposit.
However in London, it currently takes the average first time buyer 11 years to save enough for a 15% deposit, as the average property price for a first time buyer in the capital is £445,945.
The North East is the only one region where the first time buyer mortgage deposit saving timeline has reduced since 2012, the data shows, where the average first time buyer would need 4.3 years to save a 15% deposit on the current FTB property price of £119,411.
This is tad lower on the 4.4 years required in 2012.
Matthew Cooper, founder and managing director of Yes Homebuyers, said: We seem to consider consistent house price growth as a cause for celebration in Britain. However, the reality is that these ever increasing property prices are pushing the dream of homeownership further out of reach for many first-time buyers.
To think that the timeline of saving for a mortgage deposit has increased by as much as three years since 2012 alone is quite shocking and really highlights the huge task facing those who wish to get their first foot on the ladder, Cooper said. Instead of delivering on their promises of building new homes, the government has consistently added fuel to this affordability fire by stoking demand via schemes like Help to Buy.
He said that until they actually increase the supply of stock reaching the market, this gap will continue to widen and the average age of the nation’s first-time buyers will continue to climb as they are forced to save for far longer, simply to accumulate enough for a mortgage deposit.