Mortgages have become more affordable over the last five years, according to new figures from Halifax. This improvement in affordability has been seen all over the UK, with the exception of London and the South East.
While taking out a new mortgage in London means spending an extra two thousand pounds per year compared to five years ago, the average payment in the UK has apparently fallen by £96.
These more favourable mortgage market conditions have been created by a combination of factors, including lower mortgage rates, increased average earnings and house price changes over the last five years.
The greatest mortgage reductions are found in Northern Ireland, where new payments are £2,880 per year less than they were five years ago. New Scottish mortgage holders are paying £980 less than they were five years ago, while those in the North are paying £780 less.
The South East is the only other area outside of London where new mortgage payments are more expensive than they were five years ago, and now cost an extra £612 on average.
As a result of the lower payments, new mortgage payments account for 28% of income, down almost 3 percentage points (2.7%) from 2009. This is also massively down from the high point of the market in 2007, when 48% of income was spent on mortgages.
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