Wannabe first-time buyers could save on their monthly outgoings if they bought a property rather than rented one, according to Santander. It reckons that in every region of the UK, average mortgage repayments are cheaper than the average monthly rental price.

And it has calculated that potential buyers could save themselves £2,300 a year if they were able to purchase their own property. The average monthly rent in the UK is currently £995 per household compared to monthly repayments of £805 for the average first-time buyer household.

Big savings

Prospective first-time buyers in the South West are set to make the biggest monthly savings by making the switch from renting to property ownership, as average monthly rents exceed mortgage payments by over £192. At the other end of the scale are those living in the East of England, where typical first-time buyer monthly mortgage payments exceed average rents by only £2.

Miguel Sard, managing director of mortgages at Santander UK, said: “People assume that buying a property will put them under greater financial pressure, but often the reverse is true. With annual savings averaging well over £2,000, this can really mount up over time and of course once the mortgage is paid off you have a valuable asset to show for it.”