But those who rent their properties will spend another four weeks, until 12 May, paying off the annual cost of their home.
The calculations are based on the average annual mortgage repayment cost of £6,954 and the net annual income of £25,603 and mortgage freedom day is three days earlier than in 2013 and is the result of net annual income increasing by £2,153 since last year, while the average annual mortgage repayment has increased by £357 over the same period.
‘While monthly mortgage and rental costs account for the majority of many people’s household budgets, Mortgage Freedom Day provides a different perspective on how much we spend on these costs over the course of a year,’ said Craig McKinlay, mortgage director at the Halifax.
‘Our research shows that today, if people had put everything they’d earned since the start of the year towards their mortgage, the average homeowner would be mortgage free for the remainder of the year, which is a reassuring thought,’ he added.
Unfortunately for some home owners the wait is a bit longer as in four local authorities in London, this year's Mortgage Freedom Day doesn’t arrive until after half of the year has passed. In Haringey it is 01 July, in Kensington and Chelsea 13 July, in Camden 24 July and in Hammersmith and Fulham 30 July.
At the other end of the scale, Armagh in Northern Ireland had the earliest Mortgage Freedom Day on 13 February, some five and a half months earlier than Hammersmith and Fulham. Six of the 10 earliest Mortgage Freedom Days this year take place in Northern Ireland, such as in Ballymoney on 15 February and Craigavon on 18 February.
The remaining four are in Scotland, including East Ayrshire on 19 February and West Dunbartonshire on 21 February. Only one local area in the earliest 150 Mortgage Freedom Days is in southern England in Fenland, Cambridgeshire which was 23 March.
Nationally, there is a one month difference between the earliest Mortgage Freedom Day in Northern Ireland on 10 March and England and Wales both 10 April. For home owners in the South East it will be 02 May and London 20 May.
In all regions of England, Rent Freedom Day comes after Mortgage Freedom Day. The shortest difference is one week in the West Midlands on15 April and 08 April, with the longest being 46 days in London on 05 July against 20 May.
