Buying cheaper than renting in a third of British cities
It's cheaper to buy than to rent in more than a third of British cities - as long as you get the chance, that is.
According to the latest research by property search website Zoopla.co.uk, paying a mortgage on a two-bedroom home works out costing less per month than renting in 36% of UK cities.
But there's a big north-south divide. In Glasgow, rental payments average £596 per month, whereas monthly mortgage payments would be £447. This means Glaswegian buyers are paying 25% less per month to own property than rent it.
Compare mortgage options here
In Hull, buyers pay on average £397 a month - or £452 per month to rent.
"If they can make the leap, and are willing to relinquish the flexibility that comes with renting, tenants up north in particular would be much better off buying and paying off a mortgage every month," says Zoopla's Lawrence Hall.
"Scotland and the North of England are cementing their standing as international university hubs – boasting seats of learning such as York, Edinburgh and Durham. This means increasingly high numbers of students are flock to these areas – all looking for places to stay and driving up rents as a result."
It's a very different picture, though, in the south-east. The average London tenant pays a whacking £2,218 per month for a two-bed flat. But the capital's home-owners fork out even more, at an average of £3,302.
Buyers in Reading typically pay £3,000 more than tenants, and those in Cambridge £3,700 more.
"Growing pressure on housing supply in this corner of the UK from professionals, families and overseas investors means that getting a foothold onto the property ladder in these areas is only becoming a more costly endeavour, and the mortgage payments attached to this are rising to bridge this gap," says Hall.
Nationwide, the current average rent for a two-bedroom home is £666 per month, compared to an average asking price of £145,840. As a result, servicing a 90% loan-to-value mortgage typically costs £58 more per month than renting.
Of course, for many people, buying is an impossibility, whether it's cheaper or not. Tight lending rules, combined with the need to raise a massive deposit, make a mortgage out of the question for many.
This summer, in fact, Professor Steve Wilcox of the University of York's centre for housing policy warned that only two thirds of 60-year-olds will own their own home in 25 years' time.
In England, more than two-thirds of 25-to-34-year-olds were homeowners in 1991 – but last year only 36% could say the same.
Compare mortgage options here
Top 10 locations where renting beats buying (Zoopla)
Rank Location Median Rent Median Asking Price Ag. Mortgage Payment Buying Premium
1 London £2,218 £665,000 £3,302 50%
2 Reading £1,041 £270,000 £1,341 29%
3 Cambridge £1,104 £285,000 £1,415 28%
4 Brighton £1,252 £315,000 £1,564 25%
5 Aberdeen £904 £225,000 £1,117 24%
6 Bristol £878 £213,473 £1,060 21%
7 Norwich £659 £160,000 £795 21%
8 York £796 £183,973 £914 15%
9 Bedford £752 £173,478 £861 15%
10 Southampton £804 £184,950 £918 14%
Top 10 locations where buying beats renting
Rank Location Av. Monthly Rent Av. Asking Price Av. Mortgage Payment Rental Premium
1 Glasgow £596 £90,000 £447 33%
2 Dundee £522 £83,000 £412 27%
3 Birmingham £678 £116,950 £581 17%
4 Hull £452 £80,000 £397 14%
5 Manchester £600 £110,000 £546 10%
6 Coventry £652 £119,950 £596 10%
7 Edinburgh £852 £159,000 £79 8%
8 Rotherham £426 £80,000 £397 7%
9 Bradford £452 £85,000 £422 7%
10 Sheffield £552 £105,000 £521 6%
Read more on AOL Money:
The UK's most affordable places to rent and buy
Want to buy a house for £1?
Are these the cheapest homes in Britain?
