House buyers in London and the South are more likely to be dependent upon a mortgage to finance their purchase than buyers anywhere else in the country, according to initial results from our survey of house-hunters.
Around 80% of buyers in London, the South East and the South West of England say that a mortgage was ‘the primary source of finance’ for their new home. This compares with an average of 72% across the country as a whole.
Buyers in areas such as the Midlands and the North of England are more likely than average to have purchased their home primarily with savings, an inheritance or some other source of finance. Right across the UK, however, a mortgage is by far the most likely route to purchase.
And across the UK, almost 30% of buyers taking out a mortgage say they had some assistance with putting up the deposit. That assistance was most likely to come from parents (58% of those receiving help) with the next most frequent source being grandparents (10%).
These are among the interim results from our ongoing survey into the views of house-buyers. We are continuing to offer prizes of up to £1,000 to anyone doing the online questionnaire here (http://tiny.cc/mortgage-survey). It takes less than ten minutes to complete.
Mike Holland of OlsenMetrix Marketing, which is managing the study on our behalf, said: “It may be that house prices in London are so high that savings, gifts or inheritances are not enough to be the major source of finance, although obviously making a welcome contribution to the purchase. This means that the bulk of the money must still come from a mortgage.
“As we continue to gather more data we shall get a clearer picture of what is going on and what, if anything, housebuilders can do to assist.”
The full results of the survey are expected to be published in September when more data has been obtained.
Joanne Atkin, editor of What Mortgage, said: “We remain very keen to hear from anyone currently searching for a new house or who has purchased a new house in the past twelve months.
“Whether your search covered brand-new homes, established properties or both, your views will help to shape the way the house-building industry meets the needs of home buyers in the future.”
Everyone who takes part in our survey goes into a draw to win £500 and if you agree to take part in a follow-up telephone survey you could win an additional £500. Just log on to the questionnaire here (http://tiny.cc/mortgage-survey).
