Zoopla: It’s cheaper to buy than to rent a home

For the first-time buyer struggling to get on the property ladder with the purchase of their first home, it has usually been the issue that renting was a cheaper option than paying a monthly mortgage, particularly with the need to organise the wherewithal to scrape together the required deposit.

House prices have risen and outpaced wage and salary inflation, which makes the dream of owning your first house seem impossible and even impractical.

But new research by online estate agent portal Zoopla may indicate some hope.

As reported on trade site Estate Agent Today, Zoopla's research has identified that the cost of taking out a mortgage and keeping up the repayments has currently become cheaper than the average rental payments for the majority of areas in the country.

Specifically, the figures for late 2023 show that renters were then paying around 2 per cent more than those with mortgages.

By October 2024, the mortgage rates had overtaken the rental costs with a difference of 18% in favour of mortgage owners, widening to almost 20 per cent on average in the most up-to-date data, which is based on the repayment plan over a term of 30 years (the most popular plan for first-time buyers).

That's not to say that affordability as a whole has changed. There are certainly challenges not only in finding that initial deposit, but also in planning and budgeting for the ongoing household bills and maintenance that would not necessarily be part of the renters' budget. 

The problem with jumping ship from renting to owning a first home has not been helped by the Government's decision not to maintain the stamp duty holiday that has been in place for almost two years - it reverts on 1 April 2025, which means that first-time buyers will have to pay the standard rates of stamp duty as dictated by the HMRC thresholds (you can read our recent article on the stamp duty changes).

Trying to find that deposit has become increasingly difficult not only because house prices are going up faster than the wage or salary upon which the mortgage calculations are made, but also the amount needed to be sourced for the deposit has obviously increased - which is why the oft-quoted “Bank of Mum and Dad” (or other family members or friends for that matter) usually comes in to help.

However, with this news, it might be an opportune time to look for a property in one of the areas where this difference between renting and buying is particularly financially strong.

Zoopla's analysis gives us a table of the data of the areas in the country that are best served by this news:

Source: Zoopla; mortgage based on 30-year term at 4.5%

Interestingly, there is one area of the country that has bucked the trend - the East of England where there is an increase of 6% of the mortgage costs against the rental costs.

Whether you are a first-time buyer looking to hop onto the property ladder or you are a seasoned home-owner looking for your next property, it's important to keep the costs of moving under control, and particularly where the legal side of things are concerned - a high quality service that is focused on you and is value for money.

To this end, look no further than Homeward Legal. 

Our conveyancers will start work on your plans as soon as you agree to the quotation and appoint them to represent you. 

Homeward Legal will also provide a quote that will not change - what you are quoted is what you pay for standard conveyancing process, which means you can effectively budget for your conveyancing needs. 

There are some unforeseen items that might arise during the purchase and/or sale, which includes a specialist flood assessment report, but the solicitor discusses these and their cost as they come up. 

In addition, to protect the homebuyer further, Homeward Legal operates a ‘no completion, no fee' promise, which ensures that, should the purchase or sale not go through as planned to completion status, no payment is required.

Call  to get your conveyancing quote started, or to discuss your concerns with your plans to move.

Or you can get a quick quote, using Homeward Legal's easy-to-use quote generator.