Three out of four couples living in the UK are postponing wedding plans in order to get on to the housing ladder first, according to a new study by estate agency Chestertons.
The research found that buying a home is the top financial priority for 71% of couples.
With average house prices and deposits now so high, it is now more difficult than ever for couples to find the spare cash to put aside for a wedding.
According to Halifax, the average price of a home in the UK is now £212,430 and a whopping £416,163 in London.
So it is no surprise to see that couples are choosing to get the funds together to buy a property rather than tie the knot.
Only half of those who did buy a home together felt they would never be able to afford to get married.
The average age people get married in the UK has risen to 32 for men and 30 for women, compared to 28 and 26 in 2001.
There is also not much hope for couples looking to have their nuptials paid for outright by a parent either.
A separate survey commissioned by Chestertons last year found that the tradition of the bride’s parents paying for the wedding has all but died out, with just 6% of couples lucky enough to have their wedding paid for this way. This compares to 40% of fathers who paid for their daughter’s wedding in the 1950s.
Jess Davies, 29 and living in Norbiton, London, chose to buy a house with her boyfriend Mike before getting married. She said: “We bought a house together in 2014, got engaged in 2015 and are getting married this August. At the time of buying a house we had been together eight years, but still wanted to buy somewhere before getting married.
“We couldn’t afford both so, while we always knew we’d get married, getting on the property ladder was just a higher priority. We felt we were wasting money renting and really wanted a place that was truly our own. Our attitude was, we’ve been together so long, what’s another couple of years of waiting to get married?”
The imbalance between supply and demand is putting increasing pressure on house prices and has led to many first-time buyers being squeezed out of the property market.
The government has introduced a number of new schemes in recent years to help those looking to buy a home, including Help to Buy and Right to Buy. In the Autumn Statement last year, Chancellor George Osborne unveiled plans to build 400,000 homes and announced a 3% rise in stamp duty as part of the government’s aim to help people get on the housing ladder.
Nimish Patel, sales manager of the Greenwich and Blackheath office of Chestertons, said: “We advise first-time buyers to put down at least a 10% deposit on a property. We find that most couples would rather invest this money in buying a property over paying for a wedding.
“The London Help to Buy scheme does offer some assistance to hard-pressed couples. The Government this month increased the upper limit for the interest-free equity loan it offers new homebuyers in Greater London from 20% to 40%, however the scheme only applies to new-build homes up to a maximum value of £600,000, so buyers will still need to work hard to get best value.”
Chestertons also has a guide offering tips on planning and budgeting when buying a home, which you can find here.
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