Research Shows it Takes 3.6 Years to Save for your First Home

According to research from Post Office Money, first time buyers are saving £843 per month to save for a deposit, taking on average 3.6 years to save the amount required to get onto the housing ladder.

This is good news compared to last year’s figures which showed that first time buyers were taking 3.8 years to buy their first home. This could be because of the generous financial contributions that buyers’ loved ones are making in order to help them get onto the housing ladder and speed up the process.

The figures show that 71% of buyers had help from a family member in gathering enough of a deposit. The research also shows that 20% had the help of a partner to save, 15% took out a loan from the Bank of Mum & Dad and 12% used inheritance. Other people were being slightly more inventive with 25% selling items on eBay to boost their saving, 33% took out an extra job and 15% moved to a higher paid job. Finally, 15% used credit cards to cover expenses but it’s worth remembering that any credit card debit will impact your borrowing capacity.

Research released earlier in the year from Bank of Scotland showed that first time buyers made up 50% of the Scottish property market and the number of first time buyers went up by 56% in the last decade. In addition, research from OneFamily showed that Glasgow was the top spot for first time buyer affordability across all major cities in the UK and had the most favourable price compared to earnings at 3.5 times the annual salary. In London it exceeds 11 and lenders typically allow 4.5 times the annual salary as a maximum.

If you are ready to venture into the world of property ownership, talk to us at Vanilla Square. We can guide you through the process and give you an idea of what what you can afford and the best areas in which to invest.