Nearly eight out of 10 (82%) homes in Leicester suburb Oadby and Wigston are cheaper to buy with a mortgage than the average rent, latest research from Zoopla reveals.
And across the UK a third of homes (150,000) for sale are cheaper to buy than rent in the same area, with the average first-time buyer saving £93 a month on a mortgage instead of renting.
Zoopla found that whilst some regions have more affordable homes for first time buyers than others it’s most likely urban areas where buying is cheaper than renting.
Oadby and Wigston, a suburb of Leicester, has the largest proportion of for-sale homes (82%) with mortgage repayments lower than the local market rent.
Ipswich in Suffolk comes second (80%) and North West Leicestershire (78%) comes third.
The majority of homes for sale in Newcastle (68%), Manchester (62%), Southampton (62%) and Sheffield (51%) are also cheaper to buy than rent thanks to an abundance of flats.
Assuming a 20% deposit a deeper analysis of homes listed on Zoopla found that first-time buyers can find 150,000 homes (34% of the total listed) where average monthly mortgage repayments are lower than rents.
Over two-fifths of homes for sale in the North East (48%), Scotland (46%) and North West (44%) are cheaper to buy than rent with the monthly difference between the cost of renting and buying in these areas ranging between £240 and £425.
But just a quarter (27%) of homes in the South West and a third (33%) of homes in the East Midlands have mortgage repayments lower than local rents.
BUYING POWER
Izabella Lubowiecka, ZooplaAnd just two in five homes listed in London would have a lower mortgage repayment than the asking rent.
Izabella Lubowiecka, Senior Property Researcher at Zoopla, says: “First time buyers are an important source of demand for homes accounting for 36% of home buyers looking to move home in the next two years.
“While higher mortgage rates have reduced buying power, our data shows there are many areas of the country where home ownership is more accessible assuming the buyer has saved a 20% deposit.”
