Buying is Cheaper than Renting in Over One Third of Cities

Buying a home using a mortgage is cheaper than monthly rent payments in over one third of British cities, according to recent research from Zoopla.

It reports that buying is most cost-effective in the north, with homeowners in Glasgow over £100 better off per month than if they rented.

Buying is Cheaper than Renting in Over One Third of Cities

However, in the south, it is cheaper to rent than buy.

Zoopla states that as a national average, renters pay £58 less a month than buyers with a mortgage.

The property portal’s study compares the cost of renting with buying a two-bedroom home.

In London, the typical rental property costs £2,218 per month, compared with an average monthly mortgage repayment of £3,302.

Meanwhile, in Hull, buyers pay an average monthly repayment of £397, while renters pay £452 a month.

The top ten areas where renting is cheaper than buying are:

1. London
2. Reading
3. Cambridge
4. Brighton
5. Aberdeen
6. Bristol
7. Norwich
8. York
9. Bedford
10. Southampton

The top ten locations where buying is cheaper than renting are:

1. Glasgow
2. Dundee
3. Birmingham
4. Hull
5. Manchester
6. Coventry
7. Edinburgh
8. Rotherham
9. Bradford
10. Sheffield

To calculate the averages, Zoopla used a 25-year mortgage with repayments and a fixed interest rate at the current average best rate of 4.5%, based on 90% loan-to-value.