To obtain a mortgage, first-time homebuyers in the UK need to save a deposit amounting to about ** percent of the property purchase price. The higher the property value and the loan amount, the higher the deposit. In 2024, the average first-time buyer deposit in the UK was about ****** British pounds, but in the most expensive region, Greater London, the deposit amount was more than double. The share of the deposit was also much higher than in other regions in the UK. How has the house price for first-time buyers changed over time? Housing bought by first-time buyers has become increasingly pricier since 2000, making it harder for renters to get on the property ladder. By 2024, the average house price had tripled. The price also varied in different regions, with the North East being the least expensive and Greater London – the most expensive. Which are the most affordable areas for first-time buyers? While housing in certain areas can be pricy, this does not necessarily make it unaffordable, as the standard of living may also be higher. In 2020, the most affordable towns for first-time buyers were found in the North West region (Burnley) and Scotland (East Ayshire, North Ayshire, Inverclyde, West Dunbartonshire).

Despite the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reporting that the actual average deposit required to buy a home was ** thousand British pounds (GBP), Santander's survey of potential first-time homeowners found the average target deposit was in some cases much lower. Even in London, where the average property price in early 2019 was over *** thousand British pounds, potential first-time homeowners had a target deposit of around **** percent of the property price (**** thousand GBP).

The issue with having a lower deposit for a new home is that it puts buyers into a higher loan-to-value mortgage ratio. Those in the North East looked to achieve the highest deposit to property price ratio at ******* percent.

On average, first-time homebuyers In the United Kingdom (UK) saved up ** percent of the home price for a down payment in 2024, amounting to ****** British pounds. In Greater London, which was the priciest region to buy a home, the down payment was higher, at ** percent.

As of September 2023, the average home deposit for first-time buyers who had to pay a ** percent deposit in Auckland, New Zealand was ****** New Zealand dollars. For buyers who had to pay a ** percent deposit for a house in Auckland, the average was ******* New Zealand dollars.

The first-time buyer average mortgage increased across all regions in the United Kingdom in 2023. London had the largest average mortgage size at over ******* British pounds. This was because it was also the region with the most expensive hosing.

Help to Buy - Wales is a £170 million shared equity loan scheme designed to support home ownership, stimulate building activity and provide a boost to the housing sector and wider economy. Under the scheme, loans are available to buyers wishing to purchase a new-build property worth up to £300,000. Help to Buy Wales support is available to all home buyers (not just first time buyers) who wish to purchase a new home, but may be constrained in doing so – for example, as a result of deposit requirements – but who could otherwise be expected to repay a mortgage. A shared equity loan of up to a maximum of 20% of the property purchase price is available. In addition, buyers are required to provide a 5% and will then need to secure a mortgage to cover the remaining balance. All builders (of all sizes) are able to register with the scheme and sell properties through the initiative. The data shown here are aggregated from the individual transaction records recorded by Help to Buy Wales Ltd, an extract of which is supplied monthly to Welsh Government.

In 2024, the average age of recent first-time buyers in London was slightly higher than the England average. Across the UK, first-time buyers accounted for approximately ******* home sales. First-time buyer prices and mortgages In London, the average value of a mortgage for first-time buyers was far higher than all other regions in the UK. Apart from the initial cost of a down payment, those that can afford to, see monthly payment savings against those renting. In certain parts of the country, annual savings of buying against renting saw first time buyers amounted to over ************ British pounds. Help to buy To encourage first-time buyers, the UK government started the "Help to buy" scheme. The scheme sees people saving for a first-time home receive a ***********bonus to their savings when purchasing a house valued at ******* British pounds (******* British pounds in London). Between December 2015 and March 2018, the North West of England saw the highest number of Help to buy ISA bonuses paid.

For the past decade, buying a home in the UK has been more affordable than renting one, when only considering the monthly costs. The renting versus buying gap fluctuated during the period and in 2016, it reached its highest value of 131 British pounds. In 2023, the monthly costs for a first-time buyer were 1,231 British pounds, compared to 1,258 British pounds for renters. Rental growth vs house price growth Housing costs in the UK have been on an uprise, with both renting and buying a home increasingly unreachable. Though the monthly costs of buying have consistently been lower in the past decade, house price growth has been much stronger than rental growth since the beginning of the pandemic. Additionally, buyers have been affected by the aggressive mortgage rate hikes, making acquiring their first home even less affordable. Barriers to homeownership Buying a home is not straightforward. For younger (18-40) potential first-time buyers, there are a number of barriers. Approximately one in three first-time buyers point out that raising a deposit was the main obstacle. Other reasons stopping buyers were not being able to take out a mortgage on their current income and poor credit ratings. Unsurprisingly, the highest share of people who buy a home with a mortgage was in the age group of 45 to 55-year-olds.

Homebuyers in the top 10 U.S. states with the highest median down payment for a home purchase had to pay more than double the median for the country in the first quarter of 2024. California, Massachusetts, and Hawaii were the states with the highest down payments in the United States, with median deposits for a home purchase exceeding ****** U.S. dollars. Nationwide, the median down payment was approximately ****** U.S. dollars. The rapid house price increase since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, has led to homebuyers needing to set aside a larger deposit. Additionally, a higher down payment allows borrowers to secure lower monthly payments.

Home buyers in South Africa paid on average *** percent of home price as a deposit when taking out a mortgage loan in the second quarter of 2022. For first-time buyers, this percentage was slightly higher at *** percent.

In June 2025, the value of mortgage lending to owner-occupier borrowers (excluding first-home buyers) in New Zealand amounted to around **** billion New Zealand dollars. Residential lending to investors was approximately *** billion New Zealand dollars in comparison. Housing affordability in New Zealand Many people across New Zealand have discarded the homeownership dream due to the country’s unaffordable housing supply. While average residential house prices fell across some of New Zealand’s regions in 2024, first-home buyers are still largely priced out of the market due to high mortgage repayments, interest rates, and average home deposit values. The monthly residential mortgage lending value to first-home buyers in New Zealand in December 2024 came to around *** billion New Zealand dollars, marking a slight rise from the previous month. The highest monthly value of mortgage lending to first-home buyers across the country was recorded in March 2021, during a year when average residential mortgage rates were at their lowest. Where are residential mortgage interest rates heading? According to a survey conducted in May 2023, rising interest rates were the leading property market concern among New Zealanders, with over 54 percent of respondents expressing their concern. New Zealand’s average new residential mortgage interest rates were at their lowest in 2021 but have inflated greatly over the past few years. In June 2021, the average 1-year fixed interest rate for a new standard residential mortgage in New Zealand was at **** percent, with this rate rising to over *** percent by December 2023. Nonetheless, mortgage rates showed signs of leveling out at the end of 2023, and began declining in 2024.

Since 2015, the gap between the cost of buying a home and renting has grown, with homeownership becoming increasingly less affordable. In the ***** ******* of 2024, the house price to rent ratio in the UK stood at *****. That meant that house price growth has outpaced rental growth by nearly ** percent between 2015 and 2024. The UK's house price to rent ratio was slightly below the average Euro area ratio. House price to income ratio in the UK Another indicator for housing affordability is the house price to income ratio, which is calculated by dividing nominal house prices by the nominal disposable income per head. The ratio saw an overall increase between 2015, which was the base year, and 2022. After that, the index declined, but remained close to the average for the Euro area. Is it more affordable to rent or buy? There are many things to be considered when comparing buying to renting, such as the ability to qualify for a mortgage and whether prospective homebuyers have sufficient savings for a deposit. Generally, purchasing a home is more affordable than renting one. However, the average monthly savings first-time buyers can achieve have been on the decline. In East of England, where house prices have increased rapidly over the past few years, it was cheaper to rent than to buy in 2022.

The price of residential property in New Zealand was the highest in the Auckland region in October 2025, with an average sale price of over *** million New Zealand dollars. The most populated city in the country, Auckland, has consistently reported higher house prices compared to most other regions. Buying property in New Zealand, particularly in its major cities, is expensive. The nation has one of the highest house-price-to-income ratios in the world. Auckland residential market The residential housing market in Auckland is competitive. Prices have been slowly decreasing although the Auckland region experienced an annual increase in the average residential house price in October 2025 compared to the same month in the previous year. The price of residential property in Auckland was the highest in the Auckland City district, with an average sale price of around **** million New Zealand dollars. Home financing Due to the rising cost of real estate, an increasing number of New Zealanders who want to own their own property are taking on mortgages. Most residential mortgage lending in New Zealand went to owner-occupier borrowers, followed by first home buyers. In addition to mortgage lending, previously under the KiwiSaver HomeStart initiative, first-home buyers in New Zealand were able to apply to withdraw all or part of their KiwiSaver retirement savings to assist with purchasing a first home. Nonetheless, the scheme was discontinued in May 2024. Furthermore, even with a large initial deposit, it may take decades for many borrowers to pay off their mortgage.