North-south divide opens up

Posted: 06 Sep 2007 12:04:03 GMT

It has been revealed that the gap between the north and the south when it comes to buying a home is widening.

It has been revealed that the gap between the north and the south when it comes to buying a home is widening.

There has always been a divide between how much it costs to buy a property in the different regions but Abbey Mortgages has revealed that this gap has developed into a chasm in the last ten years.

Rising property prices across the country, but particularly in the south, have helped to widen the gap.

In 1997, southern first-time buyers (FTBs) needed to borrow an average of £32,927 to get onto the property ladder - eight per cent more than their northern counterparts.

Today however, southerners need to borrow £128,370 - 31 per cent more than those in the north.

However, Abbey also revealed that southern FTBs are more keen to get onto the housing ladder than FTBs in the north of the country.

"It's extremely interesting to see that, even though the housing ladder price difference between the north and south is now more of a gulf than a gap, it has done little to upset the demand for first homes in the south," commented Nici Audhlam-Gardiner from Abbey.

"Perhaps it shows that people in the south want to buy now – expecting prices to continue rising at a rapid rate, whereas buyers in the north feel they have less to gain in jumping on the property ladder."

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