Mortgage Statistics UK 2019

The rising cost of living is now regarded as the biggest threat to our children’s futures, with UK parents showing more concern about this matter than both Brexit and Climate Change. So do we have a right to be so worried?

In this article we share some of the latest housing and mortgage statistics in the UK, revealing the average house price in 2019, the typical mortgage size and other useful facts and figures to give you a good idea of what the UK housing market currently looks like.

Average UK House Prices 

Housing prices are often just as unpredictable as the weather, but where do they stand at the moment? And what does this mean for those with plans to get their foot on the property ladder in the near future?

• The average house price in the UK as of June 2019 was £230,292, having risen by 0.9% since last year. 

• Housing prices have been gradually on the rise since the financial crisis of 2007 to 2008 which saw the property market crash. As you can see from the table below, housing prices have since been on an upward trend, increasing by £1,908 since last year. 

Average Mortgage Debt in the UK

Buying a house can be one of the most expensive things you’ll ever do in your life. But exactly how much debt should you realistically expect to be in when you get a mortgage? 

• The outstanding debt owed of all residential mortgage loans in Q2 of 2019 was £1,461 billion, according to the latest FCA figures. 

• There are currently 10.94 million mortgages in the UK

• This means that the total debt of the average mortgage is currently £133,547. 

Average Age of First Time Buyers in the UK

First time buyers now represent the biggest part of the UK property market. But how old are these buyers? And what will this mean for future first-time buyers? 

• The government’s most recent annual English Housing Survey found that 64% of people living in England owned their own homes in 2017-2018. The report detailed that this was an increase of 1% from the previous year.   

• The average age of the first time buyer appears to be increasing, with recent reports stating that more and more young people are choosing to rent, as they do not feel they would be able to buy.  

• According to the Ministry of Housing, the average age of a first time buyer is now 33, having increased gradually over the last decade. 

• Santander recently conducted a First-Time Buyer survey, in which they projected that by 2026 only a quarter of those aged 25 to 34 will be in a position to buy their own home.  

Mortgages in Arrears Statistics 

If you fail to keep up on your mortgage payments, an additional amount will be added to your mortgage. These are known as payments in ‘arrears’. This total will then be spread over the rest of your mortgage and will become a percentage of your total outstanding balance. So how many UK mortgages are currently in arrears?

• During the second quarter (Q2) of 2019, 75,890 mortgages had arrears that totalled 2.5% of more of the mortgage’s overall outstanding balance. This equates to just 0.84% of all outstanding mortgages. 

• According to UK Finance’s most recent findings, “the proportion of homeowner mortgages in arrears remains at historically low levels”, with an extremely high percentage of borrowers consistently repaying their mortgages fully and on time. 

• The data also revealed that a total of 1,270 homeowner mortgaged properties were repossessed during Q2 of 2019. Overall however, (as shown in the graph below) the number of repossessed residential properties has been steadily declining since 2009. 

We hope this article has provided you with some useful facts and figures about Mortgages in 2019.