The amount needed for first time buyers in a 'broken housing market'

With an ongoing cost of living crisis and a lack of affordable houses, it has been increasingly difficult for young people to get on the housing ladder in recent years.

With an increasingly expensive private renting sector, many people have found it challenging to save enough money to put a deposit down for a property, and those who have been lucky enough to buy a home have struggled with high mortgage rates.

Analysis from the Building Societies Association (BSA) said that "new thinking and radical changes are needed" to fix the "broken housing market".

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Average house prices and cost for first time buyers

First time buyers have struggled to get on the housing market (Image: PA)
Looking further into issues surrounding the housing market, Which? reported that the average UK house price was £283,000 in March 2024, not far off the all time high of £292,000 in September 2022.

Using information from the Land Registry, the average price of a property in the UK is reported to have increased by 1.8 percent in the 12 months to March 2024.

There is also a gap of £93,000 between the average price paid by first-time buyers and those already on the housing ladder (£236k for a first-time buyer and £329k for a home mover).

In St Helens, Which? analysis shows that the average house price for a first time buyer is £163,660.

This means that a five percent deposit to secure the property would be around £8,183, or a ten percent deposit of £16,366.

This is a 2.5 percent increase from the previous month and an increase of 0.3 percent compared to house prices last year.

Matt Whiteleyfrom Harworth, Cllr Jeanie Bell, Cllr Richard McCauley and metro mayor Steve Rotheram at a housing development in Moss Nook in 2022 (Image: Harworth)
Comparing this to neighbouring areas, the average price for first time buyers in Wigan is £168,099.

In Warrington it is £213,257 and £154,720 in Liverpool.

Further data from the Land Registry shows that the average house price (for all buyers) was £182,375 in March, which was a 2.6 percent increase from February.

This is much lower than the North West average of £217,000 and UK average of £283,000.

Adopted in July 2022, St Helens Council's Local Plan proposed a minimum of 10,206 net additional dwellings across the borough between 2016 and 2037.

Labour has recently announced that if they win the general election, they will make the mortgage guarantee scheme for first-time buyers a permanent policy.

Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer said he wanted to “turn the dream of owning a home into a reality.”