Of home owning young couples (aged 18-34), 27% feel they would have only have been able to buy a home together.
On average, half of young couples living together are renters, while half jointly own a home (45 & 44%). A large number of couples are motivated by practical reasons when taking this step, with 22% admitting they made their initial move in order to save money. Young couples (aged between 18 and 34) will spend four years together on average before deciding to buy a home.
With the average price of a starter home for a first-time buyer increasing by 7% (£12,785) over the last year to £183,385, the average earnings of a first-time buyer household in the UK is £50,000 – nearly double the average annual salary of a single person (£27,274).
However, despite joining their finances in order to get into their first home, 34% of young coupled homeowners admit they didn’t contribute equally and for some this eventually led to tension in the relationship (20%).
Owen Woodley, Managing Director of Post Office Money, said: “It’s natural that once couples get serious they want to start building a life together, particularly when they see the potential of their shared income. However, saving towards the purchase of a home can be understandably daunting and the joint effort to reduce your shared cost of living and boost your savings can sometimes lead to friction in a relationship.
“As a provider that works with a large number of first-time buyers, Post Office Money Mortgages knows that saving towards a deposit can be a stressful time. As such, we have introduced a new range of fee-free mortgages which only require a five per cent deposit, so the prospect of homeownership feels like a more achievable goal.”
