Home buyers in England and Wales need to find an average deposit of nearly £26,500 to buy a home but it could be five times as much in some areas, new research shows.

Analysis of the top 30 cities and regions in England and Wales shows the average deposit needed to put down 20% of the purchase price is £26,468 but it can be as high as £72,760 or as low as £14,470.

Home buyers in London need an average of £72,760 in savings or equity to secure a 20% deposit and the average deposit there is almost double the second most expensive area to buy, with deposits in Reading at £39,789, the analysis from housing investment and shared equity mortgage provider Castle Trust shows.

In Blackburn, the deposit is a fifth of the London average at £14,470 and more than £1,200 lower than Blackpool, the next most affordable at £15,707.

Castle Trust, which aims to provide a safer way to buy a home and a safer way to invest in property, is advising home buyers, and parents or family who may be helping children on to the housing ladder, to consider all their options when raising deposits.

‘Parents and grandparents are being called on more and more to help children with their first deposit and the proportion of the population owning their own home without family help is likely to continue to fall. Aspiring homeowners need alternatives to borrowing from family which is why the Government has launched a range of initiatives including NewBuy and FirstBuy,’ said Sean Oldfield, chief executive officer, Castle Trust.

‘However, private companies need to play a role as well in offering innovative and affordable ways to help those who want to buy homes and Castle Trust is determined to play its part with housing investment and shared equity products,’ he added.

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