Owning a home in Scotland 'better for budgets than renting'

Now fresh data has shown that buying a home is more cost-effective than renting in vast swathes of the UK, including several council areas in Scotland.

However, while mortgages remain relatively affordable due to historically low interest rates, housing experts have warned that high rents are putting household budgets into jeopardy.

The research, from property website Zoopla, compared the monthly costs of buying and renting two-bedroom properties, finding that in three quarters of

Britain's local authority areas outside London monthly mortgage repayments are less expensive than rent.

In Scotland, buying was found to be cheaper in the long term to renting in seven of the top ten areas in the UK, including East and North Ayrshire, North and South Lanarkshire, Clackmannanshire and Falkirk.

Often, homeowners were better off by hundreds of pounds than those renting from private landlords.

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Zoopla found that the average renter in East Ayrshire pays £469 for a two-bedroom property, while the typical mortgage was £256. The pattern is repeated in nearby North Ayrshire, where those renting homes spend £481 a month compared to homeowners' £274.

The average Bill for people in rented accommodation in North Lanarkshire topped £510 while mortgages were said to even out at around £279.

In Falkirk renters can expect to pay £528 compared to those owning property spending £303 per month, in Clackmannanshire the difference is £539 compared to £310, while in West Dunbartonshire a rented home costs £546 while the average mortgage for a similar property is £314.

Other areas where owning a home beat renting were South Lanarkshire, where monthly mortgage costs were £314 compared to £533, Inverclyde, where the typical monthly payment was £301 versus £509 in rent, Dundee City, where mortgages were £361 compared to £589, and Renfrewshire, where the cost of owning a home was £338 while renting was £544.    

Zoopla identified Hartlepool in the north-east of England as the location where buying could be most cost-effective when compared with renting.
The cost of monthly mortgage repayments in Hartlepool could typically be 47.4% cheaper than renting, the research calculated.

At the other end of the spectrum, outside London, St Albans was found to be the local authority area where renting was found to be most cost-effective compared with buying, followed by the district of South Buckinghamshire.

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Lawrence Hall, spokesperson for Zoopla, said: “In some areas renters are paying a premium when you compare their outgoings to that of homeowners servicing a mortgage.

"Of course, buying isn’t always a viable option for those who aren’t able to put down a deposit or want the flexibility renting can offer.

"Those looking for comparatively cost-effective places to rent should keep an eye on the country’s top locations such as St. Albans, where renting is almost a quarter cheaper than servicing a mortgage.”

Figures from the Scottish Government show that from 2016 to 2017, all areas of Scotland - with the exception of Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire - saw increases in rent for two-bedroom properties.

These ranged from 0.7 per cent in Ayrshire to almost 7 % in Lothian and Glasgow.

During the past year the Scottish Government helped fund 5,340 social rented homes, an increase of 864 homes on the previous year.

Graeme Brown, Director of Shelter Scotland, said that many people in rented accommodation struggle the high costs of monthly payments to landlords.
He said: "The single biggest reason people call us is because they are having difficulty affording a home, and private-renters are over-represented in those who contact us for help.

“High rents are a particular problem in places where demand simply outstrips supply and the cost of owning is so high that renting from private landlords is the only option for many."

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However, he said that comparisons between the cost of a mortgage and average rents could be misleading, as they did not take into account the other financial aspects of owning a home.

Mr Brown said: "To compare monthly rent with monthly mortgage payments is far too simplistic. It takes no account of mortgage interest, repairs, maintenance, buildings or life insurance or the cost of furnishing a home which is included in rent in many cases."

He added: "If all goes well mortgage-holders will one day have an asset but there are costs and risks which come with buying which mean it is not the best option for everyone."

“While private rents are too high for many people, the answer is to ensure we have a significant increase in secure, affordable homes for social rent. We need to rebuild our social housing stock which has been depleted due to the now abolished right-to-buy legislation which saw homes sold-off and never replaced."