The average first-time buyer deposit has reached a record high. Those hopping on the first rung of the property ladder are handing over £3,000 more than in 2018.
Related: Calling all first time buyers! You can now pay for someone to find your first home for you
Research by Halifax has revealed that the average first-time buyer deposit reached £46,187 in 2019. This was seven per cent higher than the average deposit of £43,155 in 2018.
The average house price paid by first time buyers had risen by 9 per cent in the last year from £213,203 in 2018, to £231,455 in 2019. If you thought you were nearly there with saving for a deposit, you might want to think again.
Despite, house prices faltering and struggling over the last year due to Brexit and general election uncertainty, first-time buyers are still battling against inflation.
Unsurprisingly, first-time buyers in London faced the most eye-watering deposit at £109,885. While in the northeast of England, first-time buyers had it slightly easier, only needing to put down an average of £24,091.
However, despite the rise in house prices, the number of people buying their first home has increased. But only by around one per cent, going from 353,130 in 2018 to 356,767 in 2019.
In Northern Ireland, the number of first-time buyers increased by an even larger amount. It jumped up 6 per cent, going from 10,430 to 11,013.
Overall, first-time buyers now account for more than half of all house purchase mortgages.
'This is in part explained by initiatives designed specifically to support this key group, including Help to Buy schemes and family support mortgages. They also benefit from the continued period of record low-interest rates,' Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax told The Sun.
'However, it's clear that more needs to be done to address more fundamental long-term issues, not least the shortage of new, affordable homes being built,' he adds
Related: Barclays has improved its revolutionary no deposit mortgage for first time buyers
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