The average deposit paid for a property in England and Wales increased by c. £5,000 year-on-year, despite deposit sizes as a proportion of the purchase price falling by an average of 1% across the country, research by My Home Move, the UK’s leading provider of mover conveyancing service has found.
In addition:
- Deposit percentages decreased year-on-year by an average of 1% across all regions, with the exception of Greater London where a rise of 1% (c.£18k) has been recorded
- ‘Cheapest to most expensive’ deposit regions – North East, North West, Wales, East Midlands, West Midlands, South West, South East, Greater London
The research which compared the deposit sizes for the first six months of 2015 and 2016 against average property prices discovered that home buyers across the country were securing their new homes with an average deposit of £55,000, up from £50,000 in H1 2015.
Commenting on these findings, Doug Crawford, CEO of My Home Move said,
“The decrease in deposit percentages indicates that the measures introduced by the Government to ensure easier lending across the mortgage market, have had a positive impact, especially for those outside of the capital.
“However, while this may sound like great news for home buyers, the reality is somewhat different. The rise in property prices means that in real terms this decrease actually translates into increase in the majority of regions. For those looking to buy in Wales the increase, on average, is only a few hundred pounds, but for those in London or the South East this translates into thousands of pounds.
“For many, their deposit will come from the equity in the property they are selling. However, there are still a large proportion of home buyers who will need to save thousands of pounds more, to make the move onto and up the property ladder.”
The two exceptions revealed in the research included Greater London and the North East. For home buyers across the capital, a rise in property prices of 13.6% year-on-year, resulted in deposit sizes increasing by 1% of the purchase price, the equivalent of £18,000. In the North East, where property prices witnessed only a minimal increase, the overall size and value of an average deposit decreased by 1.78% and £1,418 respectively.
