It can seem like a lifetime to reach the final instalment of a mortgage payment. But where in the UK will people have to work the most (and least) hours to pay off their big investment?
New research from Coulters Property has identified the average house price and salary in every major town and city in the UK to reveal where people will need to work the most, or least, to pay off their mortgage if they put down a 15% deposit.
Unsurprisingly, London is the city is where it takes the longest to pay off a mortgage, with the 24,487 average hours needed. Oxford and Cambridge followed closely behind, where people need to spend 22,659 and 21,977 hours to pay off their mortgage.
The most hours needed to pay off a mortgage (by town/city):
Rank | Town/City | Average Mortgage Amount (£) | Average Hours To Pay Off Mortgage | Average Number of Work Days (8h) To Pay Off Mortgage |
1 | London | £415,785 | 24,487 | 3,061 |
2 | Oxford | £363,580 | 22,695 | 2,837 |
3 | Cambridge | £384,816 | 21,977 | 2,747 |
4 | Brighton and Hove | £322,188 | 20,693 | 2,587 |
5 | Bournemouth | £248,889 | 19,567 | 2,446 |
6 | Watford | £304,470 | 18,982 | 2,373 |
7 | Slough | £256,256 | 17,564 | 2,195 |
8 | Southend-on-Sea | £246,847 | 17,083 | 2,135 |
9 | Bristol | £253,751 | 16,996 | 2,125 |
10 | Reading | £242,204 | 16,890 | 2,111 |
At the other end of the table, it’s easier to save up north, with Sunderland ranking number 1 for the least hours needed to pay off a mortgage. With an average mortgage of £96,678, buyers will only need to work 7,905 hours to pay off their mortgage.
The least hours needed to pay off a mortgage (by town/city):
Rank | Town/City | Average Mortgage Amount (£) | Average Hours To Pay Off Mortgage | Average Number of Work Days (8h) To Pay Off Mortgage |
1 | Sunderland | £96,678 | 7,905 | 988 |
2 | Stoke-on-Trent | £99,081 | 8,135 | 1,017 |
3 | Dundee | £109,847 | 8,241 | 1,030 |
4 | Middlesbrough | £94,693 | 8,314 | 1,039 |
5 | Kingston upon Hull | £96,532 | 8,611 | 1,076 |
6 | Aberdeen | £120,193 | 8,716 | 1,089 |
7 | Glasgow | £121,287 | 8,719 | 1,090 |
8 | Blackpool | £92,044 | 8,997 | 1,125 |
9 | Liverpool | £121,323 | 9,027 | 1,128 |
10 | Bradford | £123,072 | 9,846 | 1,231 |
Average hours to pay off a mortgage (by region)
Southerners in the South East (19,076 hours) and South West (17,522 hours) take nearly twice as long to pay off their mortgage compared to the North East (9,064 hours).
Londoners need to spend three times longer than the North East to be able to afford their average mortgage amount of £415,785.
Meanwhile, Scotland (9,283 hours) is the lowest of the four nations for average hours to pay off a mortgage. In other parts of the UK, it would take 11,734 hours to pay off a mortgage in Wales and 10,005 hours in Northern Ireland.
Mike Fitzgerald, executive chairman at Coulters Property, comments: “Applying for a mortgage to buy a house is a big investment, and it can take a lifetime to pay the lender back. The length of mortgage repayments is determined by the cost of properties, which are dependent on location, and several other socio-economic factors.”
“We have all heard of the ‘north-south divide’ and this is the case for the property market. Mortgages in the south are considerably higher than mortgages in the north as you can see from our research, which shows it takes homeowners in the South East and South West nearly twice as long to pay off their mortgage compared to the North East.”
To view the research in full, click here.
