A new study suggests that slowing property price growth is increasingly helping first-time buyers realise their home-owning dreams.
Late last week, estate agent Hamptons International published its latest Time to Save Index, an annual report which documents approximately how long it takes aspiring first-time buyers to save enough money to take out their first mortgage.
Interestingly, the latest index reveals that the amount of time it takes the average first-time buyer to save a mortgage deposit has fallen substantially over the past year.
In the first quarter (Q1) of 2017, Hamptons estimated that it could take a single first-time buyer as long as 11 years to save a 15 per cent deposit, the report reveals.
Comparatively, in Q1 of 2018, saving a 15 per cent deposit would take 10 years and six months, the agent claims.
All of its statistics take into account the average costs of food, rent and day-to-day living for aspiring homeowners living in rented accommodation.
Meanwhile, the report reveals that single buyers looking to save a basic five per cent deposit now only need to save for three years and nine months – while young couples can realistically save enough money to purchase their first home in just one year and nine months.
Aneisha Beveridge, Analyst at Hamptons, said that saving a deposit was still the “biggest barrier” to young Britons purchasing their first home.
However, she added that slowing house price growth was clearly beginning to have a big impact on how long it takes aspiring homeowners to save the money they need.
“It takes a single person more than a decade to save up in the current climate. But the additional support from Help to Buy brings down the time it takes to raise a deposit by over six years for a single first-time buyer,” she said.