How much you now need to earn to buy your first home in the UK
20.06.2024 - 09:59
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
The average household income that you need to buy your first property in the UK has now been revealed. According to a study by Zoopla, the typical first-time buyer now needs earnings of more than £60,000 to step onto the property ladder.
The property website says that this is £14,900 more than what was required five years ago, and £2,400 more than last year. The analysis is based on average asking prices for first-time buyer homes listed for sale on Zoopla, which are around the £250,000 mark - based on homes that people wanting to get on the property ladder are looking to buy.
The assumption is that buyers would have a 20 percent deposit and be borrowing 3.3 times their income as a mortgage. Izabella Lubowiecka, Zoopla's senior property researcher, said: "The challenges facing first-time buyers are not the same across the UK."
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She continued: "Access to home ownership requires lower incomes in much of Wales, northern England and Scotland. The greatest challenges are in southern England, especially London where first-time buyers are already buying cheaper homes than the average in an effort to try and improve affordability."
Zoopla's research revealed that in London, first-time buyers would typically need a household income of £103,000. In contrast, they would require £38,800 in Wales and £31,500 in Scotland.
These findings were published following the release of Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures earlier this week, which showed that Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation slowed to 2 percent in May, down from 2.3 percent in April.
A recent property tracker survey from the Building Societies Association (BSA), released on Thursday,