In Lisburn and Castlereagh – the area with the highest average house prices in Northern Ireland, according to the separate residential property price index – a mortgage on a three-bed house costing £140,000 would amount to £600 per month.

However, renting a similar-sized house could cost £695 a month.

Halifax managing director Russell Galley said the average Northern Ireland homeowner was forking out around £52 a month less than someone who was living in rented accommodation. “This saving is significantly higher than the UK average of 3%,” he said.

“The overall gap between home buying and renting is at its smallest margin for 10 years, but this masks some significant regional variations where homeowners are making some considerable savings on monthly costs. “While Londoners stand to save the most from home ownership compared to renting, buyers in the South East and South West of England and north of the border in Scotland are also reaping the benefits. “Buyers in two-thirds of UK regions are saving upwards of £1,000 a year from living in a home they own.”

Low mortgage rates have helped make monthly home loan repayments more affordable. Buying was found to beat renting across the UK, Halifax said, with those in Yorkshire and the Humber making the smallest savings at £235 per year.

The gap is greatest in London, where homeowners could typically find themselves 18% better off.

Back in 2009 when Halifax conducted similar research, buying was found to be more expensive on average than renting. But UK-wide, the gap by which people could be better off has narrowed as house prices have increased, Halifax found. However, in Northern Ireland, house price increases have been more gradual. This week’s residential property price index said there had been an increase of 2.5% in the average house price this year, to reach £140,190.

The research looked at the housing costs associated with a typical first-time buyer paying a mortgage on a three-bedroom home – and compared them with the average monthly rent on the same property type.

Article sourced from Belfast Telegraph website in an article on 21st Feb 2020 . Original full article can be viewed by clicking link below

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