Renting more expensive than owning a property in the UK

[Phil Brown 40]

Renting now more expensive than buying in all areas of UK

By Emma Simon 20^th June 2018 10:04 am

 

Average rental prices are now higher than average mortgage repayments in every region of the UK, according to research from Santander Mortgages.

 

According to Santander the average rent in the UK now stands at £912 per household, compared to monthly mortgage repayments of £723 for the average first-time buyer.

This equates to savings of £189 a month or £2,268 a year for the typical first-time buyer.

 

Read the full story here: https://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk/renting-now-more-expensive-than-buying-in-all-areas-of-uk/?platform=hootsuite

[ChengCheng 0]

Hi Phil,

 

Do you think now is a good time to do sub-letting business rather than buy-to-let?

 

Sub-letting in terms of renting the property from the owner/developer, sub-let it to long-term tenants /or do air-b&b.

 

 

[chloe williams 7]

Interesting statisctics, though this has been in motion for some time with more people renting than before. Definitely expected to see something like this happen

[jamespreen 1]

Interesting stats but it's almost impossible to fairly compare average rent and mortgage payments as there are so many variables with mortgages that drastically affect the mortgage payment amount (deposit, interest rate, length of term, interest only or repayment, etc.)

[snookjas 39]

Totally true statistic. 

I have researched this a lot over the past couple of months and even down the east coast and some majorly deprived areas the rent it only on the up!!

All the best.

[snookjas 39]

Chengcheng get the right property and tenants rent to rent is a very good passive income! 

Good luck 

[rita bos 0]

Paying a rent for house is really expensive. even in India, it is too much expensive to rent for a house. it can make a lot of money without working. In India, I had consulted with a Real Estate Agent in Nagpur and it was really expensive.
 

[ian hautenne 0]

Renting may well be more expensive each month when you compare rental payments to mortgage repayments, however the initial outlay is very low in comparison to costs associated with purchasing a house. 

The article is a great read though

[JohnnyMid 3]

Not sure I buy this story. There are a lot of other costs that coming with owning a house and you simply can’t compare averages in this way. Plus hardly an objective article if it comes from someone working for ‘Mortgage Strategy’!

[pal_face 0]

Interest rates are at an all time low, surely this is skewing the stats...

[Guest Omar Khan]

Some interesting stats you have posted. It has really become a norm that renting a property is much more expensive as compared to purchasing one. But in the current landscape not many can easily purchase a property so they tend to rent one

[ipes 0]

renting is expensive, buying.. im too old for banks.. difficult

[joelb 0]

The source says it all!

[picky 0]

 

Many people prefer renting an apartment or a house because they don't want to plan so far ahead – which I can easily understand.

But there are also disappointing examples…one of which occurred to my friend:

They bought a house together, agreed on enormously high instalments, and then the couple split up. Selling would mean an immense loss. Now one of the two has to pay for the house alone, at immensely high rates - while the other has put all his savings into buying it. That's why a lot of people feel too insecure to just want to have a house like this ... you should really be 100 percent serious about everything

 

[Guest Joe Burns]

Quote

Great information if the home addition contractor can do the much better

 

[bhupinder_bhatti 1]

Before buying a home, it’s important to consider how such a purchase will affect your finances and your lifestyle. It makes sense to review all of the advantages and disadvantages of becoming a homeowner before making this big commitment.

Advantages to renting

•  Being able to give notice to vacate gives you flexibility to move to a different type of property, to a different area (or country!), or move in with someone else. Moving out of a rented home can often is quicker than selling a property, which is useful in case a relationship breaks down. Renting can also be a handy way to test a new romantic relationship
• The expense of maintenance costs is not yours, meaning you are not responsible for the likes of a broken boiler, making it easier to predict your monthly costs and giving you time to enjoy other things. 

Benefits of owning a house

• However, if you are planning for your long-term future, and have the money, then home ownership is a smart move. Make buying a property expensive in the short term – it is cheaper in the long term. 
• A fix rate mortgage means you’ll pay the same monthly amount for principal and interest until the mortgage is paid off. Rents can increase at every annual lease renewal. Fluctuating property taxes or homeowner’s insurance can change monthly payments, but that typically doesn’t happen as often as rent increases.

[AdamPH 3]

Interesting article and thanks for the post

As always the devil is in the details and a straight comparison isn't that meaningful on it's own. There are maintenance costs (for eg) involved in home ownership that don't exist in renting.

I rent by choice and expect I will for at least the next 5 years (I'm 35) and quite possibly well beyond that. I love the flexibility, the fixed monthly costs, the (virtually) zero maintenance time or cost and the variety of new places to live every 2-3 years. I moved into a new place last week and have 30 items on a spreadsheet of touchups and improvements I want to do - and that's with a rental in good condition, if it was a house (unless it was pristine on purchase) I'd be endlessly putting time and money into it. 

There are pros and cons to both of course, for example I love DIY which I can't do quite as much of with a rental as an owned place. I totally understand the sense of pride and security that come with ownership, and there are financial benefits beyond any saving on rental. 

There's great reasons to rent and great reasons to buy, I think the suggestion or implication we sometimes see levelled at renters as less established or successful than home owners isn't always well placed or accurate