Article by Phil
Here are some of the latest mortgage money advisor facts and figures from online estate agent GetAgent. Those of us living in East Lancashire might find some of these figures eye watering:
- The average new home buyer spends £72,000 in their first year of ownership!
- This includes the costs of the deposit, stamp duty, mortgage payments and of course running costs.
- In some areas this figure is as high as £200,000!
- The current average house price in England is £315,000
- On this, the average 15% deposit is £47,000, stamp duty over £3,000, mortgage payment just over £19,000 and utilities, gas, electric and water almost £3,000 taking the figure to over £70,000. With utility costs expected to spiral next year.
- The most expensive place to live is the City of London.
- County Durham has the lowest costs, at under £40,000 in the first year. Plus, it’s a beautiful county!
- Second most expensive is Surrey, then Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire.
- The mortgage money advisor survey didn’t mention the costs for Lancashire, but I suspect East Lancashire will be closer to County Durham than Central London.
Perhaps as a consequence of these figures, the number of residential sales fell by 3% in October. Perhaps buyers are hoping that price will fall or even interest rates.
FT Adviser has reported that some mortgage lenders and mortgage money advisor have started to reduce their rates again, as the market stabilises with the appointment of Sunak as Prime Minister. Santander for example, has knocked 1.25% off its tracker rate, which is now down to 3.5%. Other lenders have started to reduce their rates below 5%. Despite the likelihood that base rates will continue to increase.
Other factors could also be at play.
In the Chancellors Autumn Statement he announced that the Stamp Duty cuts would end in April 2025. That may have had the effect of dampening demand, because there is more time until the increases. Equally the freezing of tax allowances may have an impact as people pay more tax and have less income to spend on mortgage repayments.
