Buying a house is an expensive business. If you needed further proof of that, there was plenty to be found in a batch of data recently released by the Office for National Statistics.
The body found that a quarter of neighbourhoods in England and Wales were ‘off-limits’ to many would-be buyers due to the fact that the average income is well below what is needed to purchase an ‘entry level property’.
In London, where the challenge is starkest, the ONS said that new buyers needed a household income of almost £60,000 and savings of £55,000.
Yet while that poses a savings challenge – with a need to hunt out decent accounts that can deliver returns on your money to build up the funds – getting on the first rung of the housing ladder is not the end of the challenge.
As the following infographic shows, housing costs are a key part of the financial lifecycle – with renters and ‘second steppers’ also needing to weigh up the costs on getting on and up the housing ladder throughout their lives.
