The dream of buying your own home is something that guides many of our life choices. The pursuit often decides our jobs, where we live, and whether we splash out on that week away in Greece.
However, as house prices continue to skyrocket, a whole generation is left wondering if the dream will ever become a reality or remain just that, a dream.
This is nowhere more evident than in London. According to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the borough of Waltham Forest has seen a 119% increase in house prices in the last decade, more than double the increase for the rest of the country and is one of countless examples of London boroughs becoming increasingly unaffordable.
On top of that, anyone looking to scrape together a deposit big enough for a deposit has been met with rent prices sharply climbing by 80% in the last 10 years, with a mammoth 11% increase from 2024, while wage growth has been lacking behind.
According to data from Halifax bank, you’ll have to do some big saving if you want to muster up enough to get that deposit together, with Londoners seemingly splashing their savings to secure a deposit on their dream home. Their study shows the average deposit but down by first time buyers is an eye-watering £115,759.
The sum of over £100,000 may seem baffling but the data actually shows a 11% drop since 2020. To put this into it’s stomach churning perspective, people in the North East fork out an average of £26,769 on their first deposit.
Although that might still be too high for many buyers, some banks do offer a 5% mortgage deposits at a minimum – although that will leave you with some higher monthly payments.
But for those individuals who haven’t given up on the idea, crunching the data of average first time house prices gives you an idea of how much you need to save for that all important 5%.
Looking at the data of the average price of a home for first-time buyers, there is a stark difference from borough to borough.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster that you’ll need to save the most for with a 5% deposit on the average first-home coming in at a staggering £60,000 and £45,000.
For those wanting to buy, it seems further out of the city is the way to go, with Croydon, Bexley, as well as Barking and Dagenham coming out as the most affordable with deposits there sitting around the £17,000 mark
It seems Londoners are choosing a further commute when it comes to buying, too. The boroughs that saw the biggest price increase, echoing high demand over the last year, were Havering, Bromley and Hillingdon – three places that could leave you with a long journey in the morning.
Although life further out from the hustle and bustle and at times mania, is increasingly becoming an attractive option, especially given the age of first-time buyers in the city, coming in at a smidge of 35 years old compared to 33 years old across the rest of the UK.
With seemingly a mountain of savings to climb, it’s no wonder many Londoners have given up on the idea of a mortgage, with 54% of people not owning their own home compared to the nationwide average of around 40%.
Although this trend may be changing with more and more young Londoners choosing to stay at home until they can save up the funds for a deposit. Although a trend across the country, according to the 2021 census, now more than 850,000 adults in the capital are living with mum and dad.
