Ten and a half years is the amount of time the average single first-time buyer would have to save for in order to raise a deposit.
This is according to data from Hamptons International, which revealed that during the first three months of 2018, solo first-time buyers would have to save for just over a decade in order to raise a 15% deposit.
This duration is slightly down on the timescale observed in Quarter 1 of last year, which saw single first-time buyers having to save for eleven years; the drop has been attributed to the slowing growth in house prices and rise in incomes.
Commenting on the figures was Anisha Beveridge. The Analyst from Hamptons International stated: “Saving a deposit is still the biggest barrier to buying a first home. 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.
“Slower house price growth in the capital has meant that it’s now six months quicker for a couple, who share household spending, to save up for a 15% deposit in London. But it still takes a couple in London eight years to save up, twice as long as someone buying a home in the North.”
