The differences between owning and renting a property are plentiful.

One of the main reasons to rent is the convenience. When all is said and done, renting is a fairly straightforward thing to arrange, provided you have a reasonable set of references. It is also less of a commitment. This makes moving on to a new property, new town, or new part of the country altogether far easier. 

Buying a property also has a significant financial element, requiring a decent amount of money as a deposit to secure that dream home. Factors such as location can also play a major role. It’s tough buying a house in Chelsea, for example, although other areas of the country do not have the kind of costs that make purchasing a home an impossibility for most of us.

Plenty of people out there will have a healthy deposit saved up at the moment, but are in fact still renting. If this applies to you, the latest figures regarding monthly costs of property ownership and renting are likely to be of interest.

What are the latest figures showing?

The Halifax has conducted a Buying vs Renting Review, which compares the costs associated with owning a three-bedroom house against renting the same type of property.

The review has found that at present, monthly costs associated with first-time buying are around £115 lower than renting the same home. This represents a 13% difference.

When factored in over the course of a year, this would amount to almost £1,400. If considered over a hypothetical 25-year period, the difference would add up to more than £27,000.

Is this out of the ordinary?

In opposition to the most recent statistics, the gap between the monthly cost of renting and of buying has in fact narrowed in each of the previous three years.

Back in 2019, the gap between renting and buying costs was comparatively miniscule, at £116 in favour of buyers over the course of a full year.

You have to go back to 2015 to see a comparable gap, when an annual saving of £1,416 was calculated for first-time buyers over renters.

Did the research uncover anything else?

Another interesting inclusion in the review was the average deposit for buying a home.

In terms of percentages, there was a small rise from the average deposit being 24% in 2020 to 25% in 2021.

But given rising property costs, in absolute cost terms there was an average rise of £5,334. This means the average deposit for 2021 stood at just over £62,000, a jump of 9% year-on-year.

What does this mean for me?

If you are in a position to buy a home but are still renting, these kind of figures should certainly give you some food for thought.

Obviously the financial commitment of purchasing a home is not small. But once completed, there is a strong chance you will find your monthly expenditures lower than when you were renting. 

That money could go on kitting out your new abode, or be squirreled away for a rainy day. The choice is yours!

And of course, you will have a home you can call your own. That is something many people work towards for many years, so being able to take that step is something to be proud of. 

If you are a freelancer or contractor and are apprehensive about buying a home because of perceived difficulties, then we can quickly put your mind to ease. With a contractor mortgage broker or freelancer mortgage broker such as ourselves in your corner, getting the property you want can be a simpler and less stressful task.