Kevin Peachey
Cost of living
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According to new figures, more low -deposit mortgages have been available to the choice at any time since the 2008 financial crisis.
The number of transactions that require a deposit of 5% or 10% have reached their highest level since then, data from the MoneyFacts financial information service suggests.
The additional choice is a boost for the first buyers, although the prices of housing and mortgage rates are higher than they were for a large part of the 17 years.
And competition is difficult, houses generally listed for a little more than a month before the agreement of a sale, according to separate figures from the website of the Zoopla Show property website
The British housing market has been relatively settled in recent times, although buyers must still navigate uncertainty about interest rates and changes in stamp law in England and Northern Ireland.
‘Flourishing choice’
For buyers capable of providing a 5% deposit of the mortgage, there are 442 mortgages to choose, according to Moneyfacts.
Two years ago, the choice came from less than half of this total, at 204.
Borrowers able to pay a 10% deposit now have 845 products to choose, compared to 684 in April 2023.
However, they must still pay a mortgage rate of more than 5% on average, while a borrower who pays a deposit of 40% generally pays a rate less than 5%.
It has been difficult for many potential buyers to save due to the increase in rental costs in recent years.
But Rachel Sprringall, of moneyfact, said that there was a flourishing choice of mortgage loans for those whose ability to pay a deposit is stretched.
“An increase in the availability of products for budding owners is a healthy step in the right direction,” she said.
However, it said that only 6% of all the transactions available for borrowers on fixed and variable mortgages had a 5% deposit requirement, so there was still “room for improvement”.
Mortgage rates remain difficult to predict due to the uncertainty created by the American tariff policy on the broader economy.
Although the guarantee of a mortgage is one thing, buyers must also act relatively quickly when it comes to finding a new home, suggests data.
Houses in England and Wales spend an average of 36 days on the market before the sale is agreed, according to figures from the Zoopla real estate portal.
Sales were agreed on half of the houses within two months of the list, he said. To complete a sale, sellers and buyers will generally need four to six additional months, depending on the complexity of the transaction.
The fastest sales were agreed for two -bedroom houses, an average of 23 days, while houses with four or more bedrooms have generally taken 15 more days.
Houses in the northern England regions tended to sell faster than the houses in the South, where prices are higher, he said.
Despite this, the fastest sale, with an agreed sale taking an average of 19 days, had a north-south mixture, with Manchester and the London district of Waltham Forest hitting this brand.
“Households who plan to list their house and move in 2025 must fix their price requested at the right level and take advice from local agents,” said Richard Dononll, Executive Director of Zoopla.
“Buyers have much more choice of houses for sale a year ago. Aiming too high on the requested price is likely to have an impact on saliability and how long you can wait to agree on a sale.”
Zoopla uses a median average figure (the median point) for its data. He also rejects the houses that have been listed for more than six months, because she considers them as unlikely to sell.
