Durham tops Britain’s best cities for new build affordability while Exeter ranks as worst

September 18, 2019
new build home fronts

The latest research by the new homes specialists, Stone Real Estate, has looked at where across Britain is home to the most affordable chance of securing a new property based on the cost of new builds, the mortgage deposit required to buy one, and the average monthly net wage available.

Stone Real Estate looked at the current average cost of a new build property across 50 of Britain’s biggest cities, working out the cost of a 10% mortgage deposit and comparing it to average monthly net salary to see where is home to the best affordability ratio.

Across Great Britain, the current new build costs an average of £295,950, with a 10% deposit costing £29,595. The average monthly net salary currently sits at £1,993 and so it would take 14.9 months for the average home buyer to save a deposit, providing they tuck every penny away of course. While this is never the case with other costs of living taking priority, many save with a little help from their partner and some even have the additional boost of Help to Buy, and so it still demonstrates the cities that are home to the quickest foot on the ladder in relative terms.

Which cities are they?

While the wider property market has been tough of late in Durham, it does offer the best option for home buyers looking to save for a new build property. With the average monthly salary at £1,803 and a 10% deposit on the average new build costing £14,938, it would take just 8.3 months of saving to secure that first foot on the new home ladder.

Dundee (8.9), Stirling (9.4), Stoke (9.8) and Glasgow (9.9) are also home to an affordability ratio of fewer than 10 months to save a 10% new build deposit.

Bradford (10.2), Derby (10.3), Swansea (10.4), Sheffield (10.7), Liverpool (10.8), Lancaster (11), Lincoln (11.3), Nottingham (11.5), Salford (11.6) and Wakefield (11.7) would all also take less than a year to accumulate a new build deposit based on the average monthly net wage available.

Perhaps surprisingly, London’s higher wage means it’s not the city with the longest affordability ratio for new builds and with an average take-home of £2,593, it would take 18.7 months to save the average new build deposit of £48,434. It is, in fact, Exeter where home buyers have the worst chance of saving for a brand new property, with the affordability ratio between wage and deposit at 24.3 months, closely followed by Cambridge at 24.1.

Bexley is the borough to head for if you want to get on the new build ladder in London, with an affordability ratio of 14.7 months between the average deposit and the monthly take home wage.

Greenwich (15.1), Croydon (15.5), Richmond (15.6) and Tower Hamlets (15.7) are also amongst some of the best for new build to salary affordability when saving for that all-important deposit.

Founder and CEO of Stone Real Estate, Michael Stone, commented:

“New build properties will always carry a price premium, and for good reason, as homebuyers are the first to call them home and enjoy the benefits that come with it, such as no onward chain, brand new appliances with long warranties, and the option to add their personal touch.

However, the cost of getting on the new build ladder isn’t that much higher than the cost of existing property stock and as this research shows, homebuyers could pull together a deposit in some places in less than a year.

Of course, a little thing called life will ensure that we can’t tuck 100% of our salary away into a property deposit fund, however, there are often two people saving for the same goal and so this research does demonstrate the areas that will see them achieve this goal in the most timely fashion.”

Country
Monthly Net Salary
Average House Price
10% Deposit
Months Saving Required
England
£2,018
£305,490
£30,549
15.1
Wales
£1,736
£215,497
£21,550
12.4
Scotland
£1,888
£209,455
£20,945
11.1
Great Britain
£1,993
£295,950
£29,595
14.9
Ranked by top 20 quickest cities for a foot on the new build ladder across Britain.
City
Monthly Net Salary
Average House Price
10% Deposit
Months Saving Required
Durham
£1,803
£149,382
£14,938
8.3
City of Dundee
£1,721
£152,698
£15,270
8.9
Stirling
£2,343
£219,174
£21,917
9.4
Stoke-on-Trent
£1,687
£165,085
£16,509
9.8
City of Glasgow
£1,801
£178,899
£17,890
9.9
Bradford
£1,728
£176,561
£17,656
10.2
City of Derby
£1,911
£195,874
£19,587
10.3
Swansea
£1,751
£181,503
£18,150
10.4
Sheffield
£1,751
£187,904
£18,790
10.7
Liverpool
£1,742
£189,000
£18,900
10.8
Lancaster
£1,848
£202,926
£20,293
11.0
Lincoln
£1,580
£177,801
£17,780
11.3
City of Nottingham
£1,592
£183,627
£18,363
11.5
Salford
£1,711
£198,988
£19,899
11.6
Wakefield
£1,671
£196,310
£19,631
11.7
Sunderland
£1,642
£196,414
£19,641
12.0
Newcastle upon Tyne
£1,907
£229,277
£22,928
12.0
City of Kingston upon Hull
£1,457
£176,849
£17,685
12.1
Norwich
£1,765
£215,223
£21,522
12.2
City of Aberdeen
£2,105
£256,930
£25,693
12.2
Ranked by top 20 slowest cities for a foot on the new build ladder across Britain.
City
Monthly Net Salary
Average House Price
10% Deposit
Months to buy a new build
Exeter
£1,678
£407,031
£40,703
24.3
Cambridge
£2,383
£575,039
£57,504
24.1
Bath and North East Somerset
£2,041
£431,248
£43,125
21.1
Chichester
£1,987
£416,931
£41,693
21.0
London
£2,593
£484,341
£48,434
18.7
York
£1,759
£327,447
£32,745
18.6
Oxford
£2,016
£349,047
£34,905
17.3
Leicester
£1,472
£238,709
£23,871
16.2
Gloucester
£1,760
£282,591
£28,259
16.1
Brighton and Hove
£2,068
£329,825
£32,983
15.9
City of Bristol
£1,880
£290,821
£29,082
15.5
Worcester
£1,825
£277,075
£27,708
15.2
Coventry
£1,863
£276,409
£27,641
14.8
Newport
£1,706
£248,460
£24,846
14.6
Portsmouth
£1,704
£244,451
£24,445
14.3
Preston
£1,678
£237,883
£23,788
14.2
City of Edinburgh
£2,182
£302,571
£30,257
13.9
City of Peterborough
£1,780
£246,446
£24,645
13.8
Birmingham
£1,792
£248,034
£24,803
13.8
Southampton
£1,648
£224,553
£22,455
13.6
Ranked by quickest foot on the new build ladder for all London boroughs
City
Monthly Net Salary
Average House Price
10% Deposit
Months to buy a new build
Bexley
£2,240
£329,427
£32,943
14.7
Greenwich
£2,667
£403,142
£40,314
15.1
Croydon
£2,265
£352,003
£35,200
15.5
Richmond upon Thames
£3,521
£549,185
£54,919
15.6
Tower Hamlets
£2,899
£453,984
£45,398
15.7
Wandsworth
£3,477
£581,296
£58,130
16.7
Bromley
£2,729
£456,244
£45,624
16.7
Hounslow
£2,146
£374,519
£37,452
17.4
Lewisham
£2,303
£402,561
£40,256
17.5
Harrow
£2,318
£407,856
£40,786
17.6
Islington
£3,289
£593,293
£59,329
18.0
Enfield
£2,110
£380,883
£38,088
18.0
Sutton
£2,202
£399,173
£39,917
18.1
Havering
£2,133
£395,854
£39,585
18.6
Ealing
£2,470
£472,840
£47,284
19.1
Kingston upon Thames
£2,644
£509,835
£50,984
19.3
Hammersmith and Fulham
£3,276
£639,196
£63,920
19.5
Lambeth
£2,689
£537,600
£53,760
20.0
Southwark
£2,433
£491,517
£49,152
20.2
Merton
£2,865
£595,513
£59,551
20.8
Barking and Dagenham
£1,834
£390,602
£39,060
21.3
Barnet
£2,436
£525,590
£52,559
21.6
Haringey
£2,279
£493,368
£49,337
21.7
Hillingdon
£2,004
£443,828
£44,383
22.1
Waltham Forest
£2,117
£473,650
£47,365
22.4
Camden
£3,602
£820,987
£82,099
22.8
Brent
£2,059
£469,558
£46,956
22.8
City of Westminster
£4,485
£1,055,804
£105,580
23.5
Redbridge
£2,278
£542,955
£54,296
23.8
City of London
£3,345
£845,504
£84,550
25.3
Newham
£1,893
£489,067
£48,907
25.8
Hackney
£2,225
£626,569
£62,657
28.2
Kensington & Chelsea was excluded due to a lack of current wage data

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