GETTING a foot on the property ladder is no easy feat for aspiring owners as house prices hit all time highs.
Finding a pad is even trickier for home hunters with a small budget but there are pockets of affordability if you know where to look.
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And a new map shows exactly where first-time buyers can scoop property based on their budget.
In the map created by property site reallymoving users can search according to their budget and the number of bedrooms to find suitable locations.
It comes as the average UK house price jumped by 3.9%, to £269,000, in the 12 months to May, according to provisional Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures
But even in the most expensive parts of Britain such as London and the South East you could find pockets of affordability.
Buyers can use the map to uncover postcodes they may not previously have considered, where their money will go further.
The colour-coded heat map highlights in green the most promising areas to search where 90% or more of the homes are affordable.
You can access the tool here.
Neighbourhoods where between 10–30% of properties are affordable are marked in orange, and those with fewer than 10% of homes within budget are marked in red.
Reallymoving chief executive Rob Houghton said: “If first-time buyers focus only on average house prices, the dream of owning a home may seem impossible but those numbers don’t tell the full story.
“Rather than relying on general statistics, buyers can now get a clear, localised view of where they stand the best chance of finding a home they can afford.”
To create the map, reallymoving analysed the most and least affordable locations within 20 miles, based on the average budget of a local first-time buyer.
The property site found that a London buyer with a budget of £400,000 would find the most affordable area as Purfleet, while South Kensington was the least affordable.
In Cardiff a buyer with a budget of £192,500 would find Ferndale the most affordable and Penarth the least.
And in Edinburgh, buyers with a typical budget of £182,995 would find Bathgate most affordable and central Edinburgh EH1 least.
The map comes as chancellor Rachel Reeves announces extra help to get first-time buyers on to the ladder including a new permanent mortgage guarantee scheme.
At the same time, borrowers can now get a bigger mortgage under new rules that came in earlier this month.
Support for first-time buyers
There are plenty of support schemes that first-time buyers can access to make it easier to get on the ladder.
If you live in England, the First Homes scheme allows you to buy a property with up to 50% discounted from its market price.
To use the scheme, you must be a first-time buyer and be aged 18 or older.
And you’ll need to earn less than £80,000 a year before tax or £90,000 if the property is in London.
Instead of buying a whole property, you instead buy a portion from as little 10% and pay rent to a landlord on the rest through shared ownership schemes.
Only buying a share of the home means the deposit and mortgage payments are much smaller.
You can then start to increase your stake in the property when you are able to afford it until you own it outright.
Availability of shared ownership homes vary depending on area and you may have to show you have a job or links in the location where you want to buy.
You can use the scheme in England if your household earns £80,000 a year or less when you’re buying outside of London, or £90,000 a year or less when you’re buying in London
Members of your family can help you by gifting a deposit but even if they are not in the position to do this, there are other options such as joint mortgages with relatives or 100% mortgages with parental security.
For example, Barclays’ Family Springboard Mortgage allows buyers to get a home without saving a deposit at all when a family member or friend puts up savings worth 10 per cent of the purchase price.
The money is returned to the helper after five years as long as the mortgage payments are kept up.
More lenders are offering innovative mortgages to help buyers get on the ladder.
For example, if you can pull together £5,000 for a deposit, you could qualify for Yorkshire Build Society’s specialised mortgage for first-time buyers.
Borrowers can get a mortgage on properties up to £500,00 with the deal.
Or if you rent a home and have a good track record of paying the bill each month, you could qualify for a specialised deal from Skipton Building Society – and you don’t need to save a deposit at all.
The Track Record 100% mortgage from the lender is available to renters buying their first property.
You can give your savings a boost through a special ISA designed to help people save for either a first home.
The account is tax-free and anyone aged between 18-39 can open one.
When saving up to £4,000 a year and the government will then add a 25% bonus on top.
If you save the maximum amount, you could get as much as £32,000 for free to go towards your new home.
You’ll also earn tax-free interest on your savings pot, including the added extra from the government.
It’s important to note the property must cost less than £450,000 and you must buy it at least 12 months after you make your first payment into the Lifetime Isa.
Different types of mortgages
We break down all you need to know about mortgages and what categories they fall into.
A fixed rate mortgage provides an interest rate that remains the same for an agreed period such as two, five or even 10 years.
Your monthly repayments would remain the same for the whole deal period.
There are a few different types of variable mortgages and, as the name suggests, the rates can change.
A tracker mortgage sets your rate a certain percentage above or below an external benchmark.
This is usually the Bank of England base rate or a bank may have its figure.
If the base rate rises, so will your mortgage but if it drops then your monthly repayments will be reduced.
A standard variable rate (SVR) is a default rate offered by banks. You usually revert to this at the end of a fixed deal term, unless you get a new one.
SVRs are generally higher than other types of mortgage, so if you’re on one then you’re likely to be paying more than you need to.
Variable rate mortgages often don’t have exit fees while a fixed rate could do.