Renting really is more expensive than buying (Telegraph, Zoopla)
Zoopla recently released figures confirming that renting is more expensive in 74% of British towns, owning to a long term trend of rising rents in the face of huge demand for rental property.
Average repayments were around 8% lower than the cost of renting (assuming interest-only mortgage of 5% p.a.) This may sound a little hollow considering an interest-only mortgage is essentially renting from the bank; however with prices as low as they are there remains a real prospect for making capital gains from ownership in years to come.
The lack of mortgage accessibility in the market has forced many to remain in rental accommodation, unable to save for a sufficient deposit. With all the bad publicity the property market has had the notion is growing that renting won’t be seen as an inferior alternative to owning for much longer. Comment pieces such as this from the Guardian report ‘there’s more to life than bricks and mortar,’ and certainly the public’s stigma towards renting as throwing money down the drain seems to have been diminished.
So its good to know that taking the jump into ownership really is cheaper than renting, on a monthly basis at least. Of course there are associated buying costs to consider and a deposit to save up, but essentially its better to have some stake in the property you’re occupying than not! That’s not to say renting isn’t a valid form of tenure, but those who aren’t satisfied it’s reassuring to know that taking the plunge can still yield decent savings.
