Halifax research published today, shows that it now takes the typical first time buyer four years to save a deposit in Wales.

First time buyers in Scotland also face an uphill struggle, taking 4 years to save a typical Scottish deposit of £15,762.

Welsh buyers have seen their typical deposit jump from £5,419 in 2000 to £17,144, equivalent to 65% of average earnings of £26,349.

The number of Welsh FTBs last year was estimated to be 29% lower than in 2004 (16,000) and 61% lower than in 2002 (29,000). However, first time buyer numbers did start to pick-up slightly in the second half of 2005, leaving the total at 11,400 first time buyers during the year.

The least affordable town for a FTB in Wales is Chepstow where the average property price is 8.6 times the average income of a FTB. Ebbw Vale is the most affordable town in Wales for a FTB with an average property price 3.6 times higher than a FTB’s average income.

The proportion of those aged 25 and under buying their first home remains low in Wales, at just 17% of FTB home purchases.

Scotland
Meanwhile in Scotland, it is a similiar picture. There were an estimated 29,000 first-time buyers in Scotland in 2005, a record low. The number of FTBs last year was estimated to be 9% lower than in 2004 (32,000) and 58% lower than in 2002 (50,000).

Again the number of first time buyers did start to pick up near year end.

Bank of Scotland research found that a typical FTB in Scotland was unable to afford a semi detached property in 81% of towns surveyed in 2005 (38 out of 47), compared to 9% of towns (4 out of 47) in 2002.

Terraced properties were unaffordable for Scottish first time buyers in 30% of towns in 2005 on this basis, compared to 7% of towns in 2002.

The least affordable town for a FTB in Scotland is Edinburgh where the average property price is 7.7 times the average income of a FTB.

Lochgelly is the most affordable town in Scotland for a FTB with an average property price 3.5 times higher than a FTB’s average income.

Tim Crawford, Group Economist at Bank of Scotland, commented: “First time buyers in Scotland are now saving harder and longer than ever before to put down the deposit on their first home. This helps to explain why the number of first time buyers entering the market was at record lows in 2005.”