The new average deposit for a property in London is going to make you scream

I heard you want to buy a house while continuing to live in London. It’s a lovely idea, isn’t it.

Spend your money, own a property, continue living in the city where all your friends are without having to rent for the rest of your life. Lovely jubbly.

After all, property prices might be on their way up but it should be easy enough to get on the ladder. Start small, save up for a few years, and make sure you’ve got enough for a deposit.

I mean it’s not like the average property deposit in London is into six figures or anything.

What? It is? Oh. Ohhh.

That’s not a typo. You’ll need an average of £123,000 for a deposit on a London property, according to YourMoney.

The same amount could get you a property outright in some parts of the country. But in the capital? Not a chance.

With the average salary in London currently sitting at just over £35,000, a deposit would require you to spend no money for three-and-a-half years. Okay, that’s not exactly how these things work, but it does demonstrate the scale of the situation.

The average age of a first-time buyer has gone up from 31 to 32 in the last decade, according to the most recent English Housing Survey, with 29% of them aged 35 or older.

House prices in even the cheapest areas of London often dwarf local salaries, meaning it’s looking tougher and tougher for those living in the capital to even come close to finding the money for a deposit.

But still, £123,000…that figure really jumps out at you, doesn’t it?

(Images: Jamie Street/iStock)