As the supply of available housing continues to shrink and fall well below the growing demand, the price of moving for first time buyers is only going in one direction. Renting can be expensive but many underestimate quite how expensive becoming an owner-occupier can be.
Buying a home of your own is not just saving for a deposit, getting a mortgage and paying estate agent fees – it is a bit more complicated than that, even if those obvious costs do make up a large proportion of the overall amount.
Everything from house surveys to fixing cracks and leaks and paying for a removal van also needs to be taken into consideration and can make up 40% of the total cost, according to research from TotallyMoney.
You must also take the increased Stamp Duty rates into account if your prospective new home is worth more than £125,000.
Joe Gardiner, head of brand and communications at TotallyMoney, said: ‘Buying your first home is an exciting step in your life, but it’s also an expensive one and often more expensive than you initially estimate. We conducted this research to help first time buyers make sure they are aware of all potential costs before they have to pay them.”
The average upfront cost of buying a new home in the UK is £38,777 – an amount which takes into account London where the amount is an eye-watering £125,195. This reflects the general state of the market in London which has been getting silly for some time now. Not many people will be able to purchase their first home there thanks to the sky-high prices, let alone all of the other associated costs.
The upfront costs are much more affordable elsewhere in the country. For instance the TotallyMoney research highlights Bradford as a good example. If you are looking to purchase a home there the average cost is £24,895 – far below both London and the national average.
However, this is still a serious amount of money and it is something that renters looking to save for their own home should be aware of. In many ways saving a deposit is only the first of many expensive steps that must be taken.
With all that in mind is it really any surprise that so many people choose to stay in rented accommodation for the long term? If you are looking for your next home why not see what we have available to rent in your area?
