Home Residential PropertyFirst-Time Buyers Get a foot on the London ladder in less than five-years by changing just one thing

Get a foot on the London ladder in less than five-years by changing just one thing

26th Feb 19 6:17 am

The latest research from leading room share platform, ideal flatmate, has looked at an alternative way to save that all important mortgage deposit while renting in the capital without compromising your rental locations, social life or calorie intake.

ideal flatmate looked at how much the average tenant could save in each borough by opting for a single room instead of renting a one-bedroom apartment of their own, based on the average cost of each across the capital.

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ideal flatmate then looked at the required mortgage deposit at 10% of the average first-time buyer house price in each borough, before working out how many years it would take with the savings from house to flat sharing to reach this deposit.

Across London the average cost of a one-bedroom property is ยฃ1,300 a month, while a room will set you back just ยฃ600,ย  a saving of ยฃ700 a month. This equates to ยฃ8,400 a month and with the average first-time buyer house price in London currently at ยฃ412,679, it would take just under five-years (4.9) to save the ยฃ41,267 10% mortgage deposit required.

The best borough for this alternative foot on the ladder was Hounslow. The average one-bed apartment costs ยฃ1,300 to rent, with a room costing just ยฃ596 to ยฃ704 cheaper a month or ยฃ8,448 a year. With this saving, it would take a tenant in Hounslow just over 4.2-years to compile the required deposit of ยฃ35,308

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Enfield, Ealing, Tower Hamlets and Newham all provided a large enough saving to ensure tenants could save a mortgage deposit to live in the borough in less than five years.

At the other end of the table it would take tenants in Kensington and Chelsea 10.4-years to save a deposit with their room rental savings as a result of the extreme property prices in the borough.

But perhaps more surprisingly, it would also take tenants in Bexley the same amount of time for the opposite reason. The cost of renting a one bedroom and a room in the borough are both very reasonable so the saving is small, meaning it would take the same time to stump up the ยฃ31,000 deposit required in Bexley, as it would for the ยฃ120,716 deposit in Kensington and Chelsea.

Co-founder of ideal flatmate, Tom Gatzen said, โ€œThe financial barrier of transitioning from a tenant to a homeowner in London is huge and when coupled with a lack of suitable rental stock available, itโ€™s currently one of the biggest factors putting a strain on the capitalโ€™s rental market.

>>Find the right mortgage deal for you in 60 seconds

“We completely understand that for many, the only viable option when living in the capital is to rent a room in a house or flat share already and thereโ€™s a very good chance that house prices in London will be higher than they are now in four to five yearsโ€™ time.

“However, while we know the idea of saving for a mortgage deposit seems impossible, we wanted to get people thinking outside the box on ways they can make a lifestyle adjustment in order to start tackling this mammoth task, without compromising the area in which they live or having to forsake avocado for breakfast.โ€

Borough Average Rent (1 bed) Single Room Rent Monthly Saving Yearly Saving FTB House Price Mortgage Deposit Required @ 10% Years of Saving Required
Hounslow ยฃ1,300 ยฃ596 ยฃ704 ยฃ8,448 ยฃ353,076 ยฃ35,308 4.2
Enfield ยฃ1,100 ยฃ442 ยฃ658 ยฃ7,896 ยฃ352,056 ยฃ35,206 4.5
Ealing ยฃ1,200 ยฃ442 ยฃ758 ยฃ9,096 ยฃ426,620 ยฃ42,662 4.7
Tower Hamlets ยฃ1,430 ยฃ693 ยฃ737 ยฃ8,844 ยฃ415,189 ยฃ41,519 4.7
Newham ยฃ1,200 ยฃ592 ยฃ608 ยฃ7,296 ยฃ342,734 ยฃ34,273 4.7
Brent ยฃ1,250 ยฃ592 ยฃ658 ยฃ7,896 ยฃ406,390 ยฃ40,639 5.1
Southwark ยฃ1,300 ยฃ588 ยฃ712 ยฃ8,544 ยฃ446,372 ยฃ44,637 5.2
Hackney ยฃ1,495 ยฃ667 ยฃ828 ยฃ9,936 ยฃ523,280 ยฃ52,328 5.3
Lambeth ยฃ1,300 ยฃ596 ยฃ704 ยฃ8,448 ยฃ453,022 ยฃ45,302 5.4
Lewisham ยฃ1,100 ยฃ550 ยฃ550 ยฃ6,600 ยฃ366,680 ยฃ36,668 5.6
Kingston ยฃ1,100 ยฃ492 ยฃ608 ยฃ7,296 ยฃ409,397 ยฃ40,940 5.6
Haringey ยฃ1,250 ยฃ567 ยฃ683 ยฃ8,196 ยฃ478,903 ยฃ47,890 5.8
Greenwich ยฃ1,150 ยฃ650 ยฃ500 ยฃ6,000 ยฃ352,939 ยฃ35,294 5.9
Islington ยฃ1,517 ยฃ701 ยฃ816 ยฃ9,792 ยฃ582,156 ยฃ58,216 5.9
Redbridge ยฃ990 ยฃ476 ยฃ514 ยฃ6,168 ยฃ370,373 ยฃ37,037 6.0
Croydon ยฃ900 ยฃ492 ยฃ408 ยฃ4,896 ยฃ302,758 ยฃ30,276 6.2
Barnet ยฃ1,150 ยฃ548 ยฃ602 ยฃ7,224 ยฃ446,786 ยฃ44,679 6.2
Hillingdon ยฃ1,000 ยฃ542 ยฃ458 ยฃ5,496 ยฃ341,413 ยฃ34,141 6.2
Harrow ยฃ1,050 ยฃ539 ยฃ511 ยฃ6,132 ยฃ386,293 ยฃ38,629 6.3
Waltham Forest ยฃ1,075 ยฃ523 ยฃ552 ยฃ6,624 ยฃ419,083 ยฃ41,908 6.3
Westminster ยฃ1,842 ยฃ715 ยฃ1,127 ยฃ13,524 ยฃ895,636 ยฃ89,564 6.6
Wandsworth ยฃ1,365 ยฃ713 ยฃ652 ยฃ7,824 ยฃ521,095 ยฃ52,110 6.7
Merton ยฃ1,200 ยฃ642 ยฃ558 ยฃ6,696 ยฃ447,387 ยฃ44,739 6.7
Barking and Dagenham ยฃ950 ยฃ592 ยฃ358 ยฃ4,296 ยฃ287,108 ยฃ28,711 6.7
Bromley ยฃ950 ยฃ527 ยฃ423 ยฃ5,076 ยฃ353,448 ยฃ35,345 7.0
Sutton ยฃ925 ยฃ550 ยฃ375 ยฃ4,500 ยฃ320,221 ยฃ32,022 7.1
Richmond ยฃ1,200 ยฃ614 ยฃ586 ยฃ7,032 ยฃ528,510 ยฃ52,851 7.5
Camden ยฃ1,582 ยฃ802 ยฃ780 ยฃ9,360 ยฃ706,879 ยฃ70,688 7.6
Havering ยฃ875 ยฃ549 ยฃ326 ยฃ3,912 ยฃ312,903 ยฃ31,290 8.0
Hammersmith and Fulham ยฃ1,400 ยฃ801 ยฃ599 ยฃ7,188 ยฃ641,542 ยฃ64,154 8.9
Bexley ยฃ800 ยฃ550 ยฃ250 ยฃ3,000 ยฃ310,631 ยฃ31,063 10.4
Kensington and Chelsea ยฃ1,950 ยฃ980 ยฃ970 ยฃ11,640 ยฃ1,207,159 ยฃ120,716 10.4
London ยฃ1,300 ยฃ600 ยฃ700 ยฃ8,400 ยฃ412,679 ยฃ41,268 4.9

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