Coupling Up - why so many mortgage applicants are duos

A property agency has analysed the lending and housing markets to work out why so many mortgage applicants are couples.

Benham and Reeves analysed current house price data looking at the loan required in each area of the British property market after placing a 15 per cent deposit. The agency then looked at buyer purchasing power based on 4.5 times income using government earnings data.

The research shows that the average person in Britain, alone, would require a mortgage loan of £244,632 after placing a 15 per cent deposit of £43,170 on the current average house price. However, with the average person earning £35,481, it would make them eligible for a mortgage of just £159,665, leaving them £85,000 off the mark - that’s a full 35 per cent less than they require.

This is the case across every region of Britain, with London the worst place for single homebuyers, where even with an average salary of £47,301, they would fall £216,636 short of the average mortgage loan required.

In fact, at local authority level, just nine per cent of the British property market is affordable for single homebuyers when it comes to the mortgage loan required versus their mortgage purchasing power at 4.5 times income.

However, by coupling up homebuyers can dramatically improve their chances when it comes to property market affordability.

In doing so, the combined income climbs to £70,962 and they would make a home buying couple eligible to borrow £319,329 at 4.5 times their joint income - £74,697 more than the average sum required after placing a 15 per cent deposit.

Coupling up means homebuyers can afford to climb the ladder across every region of Britain, apart from London, where they would still fall £3,782 short of the mortgage required.

However, at local authority level, coupling up in the property market would mean that 79 per cent of local authorities across Britain would become obtainable for buyers, versus just nine per cent for those going it alone.