First-time buyers ‘typically paying £20,000 below the market average for a home’

First-time buyers are typically buying homes priced at around £20,000 below the market average, according to a property website.

People taking their first step on the property ladder are purchasing a home at an average of £244,100 – £20,300 (8%) below the local market average, Zoopla said.

Elevated mortgage rates mean that the average first-time buyer who got on the property ladder in the fourth quarter of 2023 is paying around £213 more per month on average on their mortgage than if they had bought their first home in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to Zoopla’s calculations.

The average monthly mortgage payment for those getting on the property ladder in 2023 is around £990, while for those who bought a year earlier it is around £777, Zoopla calculated.

It used UK Finance figures, taking into account average deposit sizes, to make the calculation.

Izabella Lubowiecka, senior property researcher at Zoopla, said: “First-time buyers are in a stronger position in the current buyer’s market so we encourage them to be resourceful and assess all the options available to them.”