The research looked at the current average cost of a new build property across 50 of Britain’s biggest cities, working out the cost of a 10% mortgage deposit and comparing it to average monthly net salary to see where is home to the best affordability ratio.
According to the findings. across Great Britain, the current new build costs an average of £295,950, with a 10% deposit costing £29,595. The average monthly net salary currently sits at £1,993 and so it would take 14.9 months for the average home buyer to save a deposit, providing they tuck every penny away of course. While this is never the case with other costs of living taking priority, many save with a little help from their partner and some even have the additional boost of Help to Buy, and so it still demonstrates the cities that are home to the quickest foot on the ladder in relative terms.
Which cities are they?
While the wider property market has been tough of late in Durham, it does offer the best option for home buyers looking to save for a new build property. With the average monthly salary at £1,803 and a 10% deposit on the average new build costing £14,938, it would take just 8.3 months of saving to secure that first foot on the new home ladder.
Dundee (8.9), Stirling (9.4), Stoke (9.8) and Glasgow (9.9) are also home to an affordability ratio of fewer than 10 months to save a 10% new build deposit.
Bradford (10.2), Derby (10.3), Swansea (10.4), Sheffield (10.7), Liverpool (10.8), Lancaster (11), Lincoln (11.3), Nottingham (11.5), Salford (11.6) and Wakefield (11.7) would all also take less than a year to accumulate a new build deposit based on the average monthly net wage available.
Perhaps surprisingly, London’s higher wage means it’s not the city with the longest affordability ratio for new builds and with an average take-home of £2,593, it would take 18.7 months to save the average new build deposit of £48,434. It is, in fact, Exeter where home buyers have the worst chance of saving for a brand new property, with the affordability ratio between wage and deposit at 24.3 months, closely followed by Cambridge at 24.1.
Bexley is the borough to head for if you want to get on the new build ladder in London, with an affordability ratio of 14.7 months between the average deposit and the monthly take home wage.
Greenwich (15.1), Croydon (15.5), Richmond (15.6) and Tower Hamlets (15.7) are also amongst some of the best for new build to salary affordability when saving for that all-important deposit.
Michael Stone, Founder and CEO of Stone Real Estate, commented: “New build properties will always carry a price premium, and for good reason, as homebuyers are the first to call them home and enjoy the benefits that come with it, such as no onward chain, brand new appliances with long warranties, and the option to add their personal touch.
However, the cost of getting on the new build ladder isn’t that much higher than the cost of existing property stock and as this research shows, homebuyers could pull together a deposit in some places in less than a year.
Of course, a little thing called life will ensure that we can’t tuck 100% of our salary away into a property deposit fund, however, there are often two people saving for the same goal and so this research does demonstrate the areas that will see them achieve this goal in the most timely fashion.”
