Asking Prices and Rents Rise Three Times Faster

The asking prices for your typical first-time buyer home and equivalent rents have shot up three times faster in comparison to the pre-pandemic figures.

Those first-time buyer-type property asking prices for two bedrooms or fewer have gone up 13% since July 2020, compared with a 4% rise between the same period in 2018 and 2020. For prospective first-time buyers who are aiming to save whilst renting, the challenge of record rents is now looking at the fastest rise in rate ever recorded.

Higher Rents

Average monthly rent payments are currently 17% higher nationally than they were just two years ago, with national average earnings up by 14% over the same period.

First-time buyer-type properties now have a record-setting asking price across the entirety of Great Britain at £224,943 which means that an average 10% deposit now stands around £22,493. This is £2,560 higher than two years ago when the average deposit was £19,934. Between July 2018 and 2020, a deposit needed for an average first-home only rose by £807.

Those first-time buyers able to save up a deposit, get a mortgage and secure a property now face average monthly mortgage payments 22% higher than those two years prior, partly due to house price rises and other part interest rate rises.

Monthly Mortgage Rise

Monthly mortgage payments for new first-time buyers based on the current average is £976 – which is £173 more than two years ago. Average monthly payments rose just £41 in the previous two years.

Those planning to buy their first home say that the biggest challenges they face are the rising house prices and soaring costs associated with energy, with around 43% of first-home buyers hoping to save enough to buy within the next three years and two-thirds starting the process of saving every month towards their deposit.

Despite these challenges, more people are enquiring to buy first-time buyer homes today than in the last normal market year of 2019. This compares with a 26% increase for all property types.

For would-be first-time buyers working to save up a deposit, they are pursuing a fast-moving target against the new records hit by average asking prices – rising much more quickly than they did before the pandemic. Those unable to live with parents or family members whilst saving, have to manage to pay record rent amounts around the country.

Rural Hunt

Those who have taken to working from home since the pandemic has stretched their interests further away into a different number of rural areas that are available within their budget. This has led to more people looking to buy property in Stockport and hoping that those looking to move within the area look into how to sell a house to make a property available on the market.

Contact the team at Joules Estate Agents Stockport for all news, availabilities and updates about housing in the Stockport area.