Overview
- Nationwide reports affordability eased over the past year as wages outpaced house prices and mortgage rates fell, lifting first-time buyer purchases about 20% above 2024.
- Lenders increased high loan-to-value lending to the highest share in more than a decade, and several major banks cut fixed-rate deals to the mid‑3% range.
- The typical 10% deposit is now near £23,000, which would take almost six years to save by setting aside 10% of average net pay.
- Regional gaps are stark, with about £44,800 needed in London versus roughly £13,100 in the North East, and around nine years to save in the capital compared with about four years in parts of the North.
- More than a third of first-time buyers received family help with deposits, and mortgage payments can approach 50% of take-home pay in lower-paid occupations.