Research by Compare My Move found, amongst 22 to 29-year old full-time employees, female savers had around £100 less to put towards their deposit each month than men in the same age bracket.
The study, which investigated how the gender pay gap affected millennials saving for their first home across the largest towns and cities in the UK, also discovered regional hotspots where the problem was worse.
Places with the widest gaps
It found Cambridge, Oxford and Slough were the areas with biggest differences between the time taken for men and women to save up for their deposit.
In Cambridge it would typically take a man seven years and 11 months to save for the average £27,196 deposit for that area. For a woman, meanwhile, it would take 11 years and nine months to save for the same deposit – almost four years more.
In Oxford women must save for an average of three years more than men to save the £36,145 needed for a 10% deposit in the city. Female first-time buyers spent two years more than their male counterparts to save for a deposit in Slough, the figures revealed.
High cost of living
As part of the study, Compare My Move, took into account the costs associated with living a normal life including food, travel, rent and socialising as well as the latest official first-time buyer house prices in order to find out how the gender pay gap was impacting those new to the property market.
It also found the effect of the gender pay gap was reduced in areas where millennials weren’t so stretched by the high costs of living.
For example, in Dundee there was more ‘equality of savings’ with women having to save an extra month more than men in the same situation. This area also had the lowest pay gap on the list of places investigated as well as highest level of disposable income for millennials. Low rent and cheaper cost of living meant both male and females in Dundee could save much more than people in areas with better pay.
Dave Sayce, co-founder of Compare My Move, said the research showed how the struggle faced by first-time buyers to get a deposit together was intensified by the gender pay gap.
“Females are most affected in areas of high living and renting costs, where the expendable income available to young savers is seriously squeezed,” he said.
“When coupled with high house prices, the gender pay gap compounds the issues faced by all first-time buyers.”
He added: “When the average female can put away £100 less than the average male a month, it’s easy to see how savings are affected. In the worst area, females have to save nearly four years longer than their male counterparts, causing them to save for well over a decade.”
The worst areas for female first-time buyers (Source: Compare My Move)
| Area | Avg 10% Deposit | Time to save (Male) | Time to save (Female) | Difference |
| Cambridge | £37,196 | 7 Years and 11 Months | 11 Years and 9 Months | 3 Years and 10 Months |
| Oxford | £36,145 | 7 Years and 4 Months | 10 Years and 4 Months | 3 Years |
| Slough | £27,146 | 5 Years and 11 Months | 7 Years and 11 Months | 2 Years |
| London | £41,374 | 6 Years and 4 Months | 8 Years and 2 Months | 1 Years and 10 Months |
| Brighton and Hove | £31,624 | 5 Years and 5 Months | 7 Years and 2 Months | 1 Years and 9 Months |
The ‘better’ areas for female first time buyers (Source: Compare My Move)
| Area | Avg 10% Deposit | Time to Save (Male) | Time to Save (Female) | Difference |
| Dundee | £10,667 | 1 Years and 3 Months | 1 Years and 4 Months | 1 Month |
| Aberdeen | £12,975 | 2 Years and 1 Month | 2 Years and 3 Months | 2 Months |
| Glasgow | £12,136 | 1 Years and 8 Months | 1 Years and 10 Months | 2 Months |
| Swansea | £13,177 | 2 Years and 3 Months | 2 Years and 6 Months | 3 Months |
| Newport | £15,610 | 2 Years and 7 Months | 2 Years and 10 Months | 3 Months |
