Average first-time buyer monthly mortgage payment still £350 more than five years ago, as Kilmarnock named cheapest area for a first home

• The latest data from Rightmove’s weekly mortgage tracker shows that the average first-time buyer mortgage payment is still £350 more each month, or 59% higher, than five years ago despite market improvements
• A typical first-time buyer is currently paying a mortgage of £940 per month, compared with £590 per month five years ago, however, payments are still £155 lower than the peak in July 2023
• Average wage growth has outpaced first-time buyer price rises, increasing borrowing power, however affordability remains very stretched:
  • Average earnings have risen by 30% in the last five years, versus 17% for first-time buyer prices
  • In London, the average first home is 6.8 times the national average annual wage of two people, compared with 1.8 times for a property in the North East
  • The research highlights challenges for single first-time buyers, with more than half of regions out of reach for someone on their own with an average wage, even with a 10% deposit
• As some movers look to cheaper areas as affordability remains stretched, Kilmarnock is currently the lowest-priced area for first-time buyers, with the price tag of a typical first home under £100,000

New analysis from the UK’s largest property website Rightmove, reveals that a typical monthly mortgage payment on a first-time buyer property is £350 more than five years ago.

The average monthly mortgage payment on a typical first-time buyer property, a two-bedroom or fewer home, is now £940 compared to £590 in 2020, despite improvements in the mortgage market from last year. However, the average payment is still £155 lower than the peak in 2023.

The analysis assumes a first-time buyer has been able to raise a 20% deposit and has opted to spread the cost of the mortgage over 30 years.

Average wage growth has outpaced the rise in average asking price for a typical first-time buyer property. Average earnings have grown by 30% in the last five years, versus a 17% increase in the price of a typical first-time buyer home.

This has slightly increased the borrowing power of first-time buyers, which is typically an average of 4.5 times a single or joint income from a mortgage lender.

However, affordability remains very stretched, which is why Rightmove has welcomed proposals from the mortgage regulator that they are considering responsible ways to enable first-time buyers to borrow more.

In London, an average first-time buyer type property is 6.8 times the national average wage of two people, now priced at £500,066.

This compares with the North East, where a typical first home is 1.8 times an average joint income at £132,854.

The analysis also highlights the particular challenge for any first-time buyers trying to purchase a home on their own.

In more than half of regions, a first-time buyer on a typical salary would not be able to afford a typical first home on their own, if they were only able to borrow 4.5 times their salary, even if they’d saved up a 10% deposit.

 

Region	Average asking price	Loan-to-Income multiple (single income)	Loan-to-Income multiple (joint income)	Loan-to-Income multiple (single income, minus a 10% deposit)	Loan-to-Income multiple (joint income, minus a 10% deposit)
London	£500,066	13.5	6.8	12.2	6.1
South East	£292,414	7.9	4.0	7.1	3.6
East of England	£272,035	7.4	3.7	6.6	3.3
South West	£249,379	6.8	3.4	6.1	3.0
West Midlands	£193,816	5.2	2.6	4.7	2.4
East Midlands	£193,115	5.2	2.6	4.7	2.4
Wales	£180,452	4.9	2.4	4.4	2.2
North West	£175,557	4.8	2.4	4.3	2.1
Yorkshire and The Humber	£174,303	4.7	2.4	4.2	2.1
Scotland	£140,783	3.8	1.9	3.4	1.7
North East	£132,854	3.6	1.8	3.2	1.6

*Even with a 10% deposit, the average price of a typical first-time buyer home in the East Midlands and above, is more than 4.5 x the national average income, which is typically what someone is able to borrow from a lender

 

For those who may be considering lower-priced areas that they can move to, Kilmarnock has been named the cheapest area for a first-time buyer to get onto the property ladder.

The average asking price for a typical first-time buyer home in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire is £84,325. Greenock in Inverclyde is second on the list at £88,862, and Grimsby in Lincolnshire is third at £93,427.

Rightmove’s mortgage expert Matt Smith says: “Higher mortgage rates mean home-movers need to consider how much they can afford to pay each month on a monthly mortgage, even if they can meet the asking price of a home. Another measure of affordability which is restricting some first-time buyers from getting onto the ladder is how much they can borrow. It’s encouraging to see that the regulator is considering how they may be able to enable first-time buyers to borrow more in a responsible way, as we think this will help to unlock more opportunity, particularly for those with smaller deposits.”

Cheapest locations for first-time buyers 

Ranking	Area	Average asking price for a first-time buyer home	Average asking price increase year-on-year
1	Kilmarnock, Ayrshire	£84,325	-1.0%
2	Greenock, Inverclyde	£88,862	+0.7%
3	Grimsby, Lincolnshire	£93,427	-1.2%
4	Blackpool, Lancashire	£93,711	0.0%
5	Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire	£95,473	+0.8%
6	Hartlepool	£99,525	+10.7%
7	Paisley, Renfrewshire	£99,570	+2.3%
8	East Kilbride, Glasgow	£100,814	+4.1%
9	Ayr, Ayrshire	£101,391	+1.0%
10	Burnley, Lancashire	£102,848	+6.2%

 

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• Headline payment calculations are based on a typical first-time buyer property of two-bedrooms or fewer, a 20% deposit, and a 30 year mortgage term
• The average five-year mortgage rate is now 4.69%, compared to 2.22% at this time in March 2020 and 6.11% in July 2023
• Average wage is based on the latest earnings figures from the ONS

 

About Rightmove

• Rightmove has the UK’s largest selection of properties for sale and to rent, adds more listings than anyone else, and over 80% of all time spent on property portals is on Rightmove.
• Rightmove’s vision is to give everyone the belief that they can make their move by giving people the best place to turn and return to for access to tools and expertise to make it happen.
• People can search Rightmove for residential resale, new homes, rentals, commercial property and overseas properties and use tools and information including getting a Mortgage in Principle, checking local sold prices, property valuations, market trends, maps and schools.
• Customers include the following key groups: estate agents, lettings agents, new homes developers, rental operators, commercial property operators and overseas property agents.
• Using the UK’s largest housing datasets, we issue a number of regular reports to track housing market indicators: our monthly House Price Index (established 2002), our quarterly Rental Trends Tracker (established 2015), a weekly Mortgage Rates Tracker (established 2023) and a quarterly Commercial Insights Tracker (2024). Historical data is available on request.
• Founded in 2000, Rightmove listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2006 and is a member of the FTSE 100 index.
• For more information, please visit www.rightmove.co.uk/claims