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First-time buyers need twice the average UK income to purchase a home – Zoopla
The average first-time buyer would need to earn £60,600 – nearly double the average UK household income of £33,300 – to get on the property ladder, analysis from a property listing firm has shown.
Research from Zoopla suggested this income would be required for a typical first home worth £250,000 with a 20% deposit.
The firm said this income was £2,400 more than what would have been required a year ago. Zoopla attributed this additional income needed to a decline in the loan-to-income (LTI) ratio and higher asking prices.
It said a typical first-time buyer took out mortgage loans that were 3.3 times their household income.
According to Zoopla, existing homeowners looking to upsize would need an income of £72,600 to buy an averagely priced home of £335,000. This was £3,400 more than the income needed a year ago.
The firm said existing homeowners tended to borrow mortgage loans that were three times their household income.
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Lowest first-time buyer income needed in North East
Zoopla found that people looking to buy their first home needed a smaller income in Northern England and Scotland than they would in the Midlands, Wales or Southern England.
The lowest income required was in the North East at £29,100, with a typical first-time buyer home costing £120,000.
This was followed by Scotland, where first-time buyers would need to be earning £31,500.
For a home worth less than £200,000 in the Midlands, a new homeowner would need an income of up to £49,000 to purchase.
The income required from first-time buyers was found to vary greatly in Southern England, with £33,900 needed in Great Yarmouth and £193,900 in Kensington and Chelsea.
Across Northern England, upsizing homeowners would need a household income of between £31,400 in areas like Blackpool or Hull and £78,000 for Trafford in Manchester.
In Scotland, a homeowner upsizing to a home worth £200,000 would need an income of £43,300.
Those in the Midlands or Wales would need an income of above £54,000, while further South in England, this rises to £66,600.
The highest income requirement was found to be in London, where upsizing homeowners would need £124,600 on average, Zoopla said.