Brits own equivalent to the kitchen and bathroom when they start a mortgage

Thestudylooked intohow much oftheaveragehome gets“bought”over the course of the mortgage, with only 33% of a houseofficially owned by the buyer when they complete on the purchase of the property.

Brits own equivalent to the kitchen and bathroom when they start a mortgage

At the point ofbuying aproperty and officiallyentering intoa mortgage,Britsonlyown the equivalent ofanaverage-sizedkitchen and bathroom, price comparison websiteMoneySuperMarkethas found.

Thestudylooked intohow much oftheaveragehome gets“bought”over the course of the mortgage, with only 33% of a houseofficially owned by the buyer when they complete on the purchase of the property.

Rachel Wait, consumer affairs spokespersonatMoneySuperMarket, said: “It’s increasingly difficult togeton theproperty ladder,yetwe don’t tend to thinkabout what that meansin terms ofhow muchof your homeyou actually ownafter you’ve spent the time saving for a deposit and going through the buying process.

“While this obviously doesn’t mean that new homeownersarerestricted to half a kitchen until they’ve paid off enough of their mortgage, it does raise some interesting questions about theincreasing cost of propertiesandhow much you end up paying foraproperty of the same size, depending on which part of the country you’re living in.

“As always, it’s worth shopping around when taking out a mortgage to ensure you’re getting the best dealpossible, and making sure payments are made on time so you don’t face costly late payment fees.”

With each square metre ofaUK propertycostingan average of£3,248.16,the master bedroomcosts£43,400, roughly £3,000more than the kitchen, with the living roomthe most valuable space, at£55,500.

Thosebuying in Leedswill typicallyown 41% of the propertyafter five years, master bedroom, kitchen and half of living room, compared toa weighty61%in Edinburgh, master bedroom, kitchen and the entire living room.

In the capital, buyers will own just underhalf of their property after five years (47%) – amounting to a master bedroom, a second bedroom and a bathroom.

The data also brings into focus theNorth versusSouth divide when it comes to the cost of property. For example, after paying off a mortgage for five years in Plymouth, home owners would have paid off 44% – or theequivalentof £95,429.25.

However, in Newcastle, paying off the same proportion of the propertyover five yearswould have cost over £10,000 less,coming in at£82,579on average.