Aspiring first time buyers in the UK are saving more for a house deposit if they live in the North of England and Scotland than if they are in London and the South East, new research shows.
Those with the biggest amount saved towards their first home live in the North East of England with savings of £9,875, followed by Scotland at £8,327 and Yorkshire at £7,939, according to the research by MyJobQuote. The next highest amount saved by would be first time buyers is in Northern Ireland at £6,875.
The lowest amount is among potential first time buyers in the West Midlands at just £1,357, followed by the South East at £1,560 and the East of England at £2,485. In London the average amount saved is £5,106 but aspiring buyers have to save much more than elsewhere in the country due to property prices being much higher.
The potential buyers who took part in the research had all been saving towards a house deposit for between three and four years.
They were also asked if they were planning to receive any financial help to make up their deposit amount from others that would not be named on the mortgage, to which 64% said yes.
When asked who they were likely to receive help from, parents came out top with 51% of the vote, followed by grandparents at 29% and extended family members at 16%. A further 7% stated that they planned to get financial assistance from an ex-partner and 6% were expecting help from their boss or employer.
The research also found that 54% of the savers confessed that they had previously taken money from their deposit savings pot for other purposes over the years, but only 26% of them said it was for an emergency such as car or home repairs. The most likely purchases made with money previously set aside to go towards a deposit on a property were holidays with 33% doing so while 28% did so for socialising.
‘It’s not easy to put money aside. Although house prices tend to be more expensive in the south, and in London in particular, this isn’t reflected in the amount that first time buyers are able to save, meaning their journey will be both longer and slower than someone looking to purchase in the North,’ said Lisa Evans from MyJobQuote.
