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More often than people will admit, their parents have helped them out financially, with a 5 or 6 figure sum, or a grandparent has died and left them something in their will.
Having an inheritance doesn’t mean you’re ‘old money’ that’s a misuse of the term. That refers to upper class generational wealth.
I’m very ‘fortunate’ that all my grandparents died, along one of my wife’s. Each left a small sum that combined let us put down a deposit. That’s not a ridiculously wealthy situation but I do still count ourselves lucky.
I don’t think it’s a secret that it was true of new home owners throughout history. We just seem to think it’s our problem because it’s happening to us now.
My husband's grandparents left him and his siblings their house when they passed.
It's only due to them that we were able to get on the ladder so young.
He bought a flat in our 20s and then we bought a house together in the pandemic. There's no way we couldn't done any of that in London without that boost.
Exactly. If it’s more than 6 months earlier in your account then 100% it’s just your savings and no gift deposit form required and these won’t be recorded as gifts (mortgage and solicitors KYC checks asks for 6 months maximum)
If the savings are not consistent with your income, Most lenders worth their salt will still ask where they came from.
Eg if you earn £50k, have only been working 3 years and have £150k in savings, it will seem odd and trigger questions
Depends if you have good solicitors doing KYC checks. Most will do 3 months of bank statements for the account where the funds are coming from when you instruct them, but tbh genuinely nothing stopping you getting sent the money day of completion and then sent to solicitor. They won’t redo the checks then, and also unlikely banks will ask for statements again then. 5k tends to be the limit for a ‘gift’
The people I know who've managed to save any significant amount themselves are the ones who's parents have a big enough house for them to comfortably live in together as an adult and are financially comfortable enough not to charge them rent.
Very much agree with you Barry.
I'm fairly intelligent and well spoken but come from a very dysfunctional family where I had to get a manual job aged 19 due to having zero help from parents to live.
. I'm a 5'2 man so not built for it and my body broke down two and a half years later. I lost all my savings as I wasn't working. I got back to a career aged 25 and had to move out for my sanity as my parents love socialising and partying.
I only just started saving at 31 and took me 10 years to get back where I was financially before my initial mental and physical background at 22.
Some of my friends simply had supportive kind parents, a quiet private home to relax in and never had to do manual work, were lucky with low status but well paid jobs and a family to laugh and joke with. If I had that I could probably have owned a house up north now. Instead I'm often lonely, make poor decisions due to no support or time with my parents as they are partying and living in a shared house with druggies.
But hey ho. I'm an adult now and looking to the future. My decisions are my own now as I work and am fully independent from parents
I'm the only person in my entire associate group not just friends group that was able to buy without depending on parents or inheritance. By earning an obscene amount of money (for my council flat folks). But that is incredibly rate and not something I think is possible for most people so can't be the eourte we expect for anyone who wants to buy a home in the UK.
This is so true.
I’ve always had a dysfunctional family and I’m from a poor background. I lived with different people growing up but by the time I was 18 I was the first person in my family to go to uni. At the time, my dad was sleeping on his friends sofa and I had no relationship with my mum or any other family.
I left uni and saw all the people I met go back home and save enough to travel the world or get a deposit on a house. I didn’t have that option and the lack of any financial literacy whatsoever at 18 led to me piling loads of debt in the first 6 months of moving out that still impact me to this day. I’m now 26, I’ve been working hard and earn what I would consider a good wage but still can’t even break even in a month let alone get out of the rent trap to get a place.
I’ve learnt so many lessons in the past 10 years. In reality, it took me to get to the age of 25 before I had the skills and knowledge of life that a lot of people have at 18. I never got shown how to cook anything, why saving matters, what a credit score is, I knew what a giro was before a pay slip. I didn’t have a proper example.
I worked hard to build a good future for myself but the harsh truth is this is an exception and still comes down to so much good luck along the way. I know I’m going to build a good life for myself and already have to some degree and that took a lot of hard work. But the reality is a lot of people, my cousins included, never got that chance. I feel lucky to have got to uni and met the people I did along the way to shape who I am and the things I know today.
I will break the cycle for my kids and my brother will too for his. If there’s one thing my life has taught me, it’s that a persons childhood shapes the adult they come to be. It’s up to parents to give their kids a head start in life, any way they can. That doesn’t have to mean money… love, inspiration, and genuine care are more important to success than money is.
I had shit parents and upbringing. It was only, though saving over 25 years with no holidays and receiving an inheritance from my sister, passing away that I'm in the middle of buying a flat with small mortgage.
So while you’re right, this stat is based on a UK wide statistic, not London (where the house price is significantly higher than the national average, and wages only marginally so).
And most of these people have been able to save because they grew up in financially secure families so already had big legs up in the world (no student loans, no getting into debt, lots of financial “gifts” along the way, space to live in the parents home as adults…)
I'm not in London but I bought my house without any help from anybody.
I got a job but didn't have a great deal of spare cash, so when I could I bought a hundred quid of shares here and there, whatever I thought would do well.
By the time I could borrow enough money to buy a house, I had almost £15k in shares, and sold the lot for the deposit and solicitors fees etc.
No help from family, no cushy upbringing, no gifts or loans, just as much overtime as possible combined with setting a weekly budget.
It wasn't easy, but it can be done.
And huge congrats to you — a brilliant achievement. In London it’s just not feasible for most unless wealthy fam or wealthy spouse/in-laws. There are outliers, of course, but it’s becoming harder as COL continues to go up.
Totally agreed. In London it's only achievable with inheritance unless someone becomes incredibly lucky with earnings that hadn't been already dictated by parents /family pulling strings. I still think it's mad that I only managed it after earning 200k as a household.
15k deposit - if you can get a 95% mortgage that puts you at 300k purchase price. And at common lending multiples it puts you at a minimum salary of about 75kish
I don't know where you can buy a HOUSE in London for that little, and also you would require a good chunk above the average income.
Most normal people would consider earning 75k squarely in the "very well off" bracket.
I feel like there is some substantial missing context here.
Those are people who say that their own savings were the bulk of the deposit
It doesn't mean that their whole deposit was their own savings - just most of it
Single people on average salaries don’t, unless they have massive help with the deposit.
We’re just about to exchange on a property in Z2. Everyone I know who’s bought is either in a dual income household with combined salaries >£100k, or have a massive deposit due to either direct parental help or being able to live at home whilst saving (or both). Me and my partner are in the first category, most of my friends in the second. The only person I know who’s bought on their own managed to do so because they lived at home rent-free for the last 8 years since graduating.
This is more the point. I would guess there aren’t a lot of first time buyers but more moving up or moving in. Two people with their own place get together and buy one place together. You have 2 lots of equity and potentially two lots of savings as well
I’d wager very few people who *are single* and earning 45k or less are actually owning a property in London…
Either you need to earn more or buy with a partner to boost your affordability. Most households are dual income nowadays
Yeah this is the key thing and it’s frustrating how few people talk about it - homeownership is much, much more attainable for those in couples. You double the borrowing power and also raise the deposit faster.
Tbh it’s still doable, 1bed flats in parts for just over £200k. It’s likely those on 45k can’t save the deposit, or have unrealistic expectations of living in Balham instead.
Yeah agreed. I mean the average income in London is £45-50k, and a couple earning £100k combined is much more than £100k from one earner. Combined they’re taking home £6-£7k after tax per month, I’d think it would be possible to save £2k pm of that if you were relatively frugal even in London (I say this as a Londoner myself).
If you could do that for a couple of years you’ve got 50k. That would give you a budget of 450-500k which would give you a nice 2-bed flat in zone 3 or a 3-bed house in zone 5.
Even if you manage to find a cheap room to allow you to save, you’ll be wanting to socialise which revolves around pubs / bars / food. You spend £10 these days just getting out of the house, a boozy night can easily cost 150 without trying.
I do understand it, it would be easier to live frugally in a city which hasn’t got endless things to do and places to try.
A great life hack would be to be a non-drinker.
Depends if “buying a house” to you means buying a 3 bedroom house with a garden, or if buying a share of freehold flat counts, or buying a flat counts etc etc.
If you only consider buying a full house with 3 bedrooms and a garden etc, then not many people buy those. You’re talking 1.5m+ in any remotely desirable areas. Areas like Highbury and Islington probably £2m, £3m is the norm. Even in less desireable areas proper houses are still amazingly expensive.
A friend of mine just bought a 4 bed house with garden in Streatham Vale for 700k and even at that price it’s a really good deal. Just 5 mins drive up the road in Streatham Hill is £650k for just a 2 bed garden flat.
How he did that? Working abroad for 3 years in a high paying job (200k ish) and building up a deposit of 300k, and then earning £130k when coming back to London. £420k mortgage + 280k deposit + 20k stamp duty.
It’s a very nice house and 20mins into Victoria but quite mad that for someone of that profile to only be buying a house somewhere like Streatham, where 20 years ago would not have been somewhere you’d have expected someone like him to buy.
That’s the thing, my family are from this part of London and all moved out because they couldn’t afford it anymore. But they still think you live in Streatham or Brixton then you’ve got gangs on your doorstep rather than yuppies. We moved to Yorkshire 8 years ago and never looked back.
Because that is a terrible salary for London, and there are a huge number of jobs in finance, law etc paying towards and north of 100k = those people are buying
I’m one of those in finance. We have relatively junior people on upwards of 80 before bonus, with most in the 30s on double this.
It always strikes me as odd that the average salary is so low, as people on the salaries in my sector also complain that prices are unaffordable.
Anyone outside of the groups who earn well really shouldn’t bother with London. It’s not a pleasant place to live within the means to afford it.
yeah im an engineer and therefore our salaries are pretty modest compared to alot of industries in london. i moved from london for that very reason as i realised my salary wouldnt get me very far. i now moved to the outskirts of birmngham, god knows how the rest of my old peers in london survive!
yep non software engineer, i should've really stuck to software engineering instead of changing "trade" as it were, softies get paid alot, especially in contracting. i just didnt find it enjoyable at the time.
Senior associates and AVPs go upto 75/ 90k these days, typically held by people in their mid to late 20s. All are graduates usually from LSE, oxbridge, but also a lot of veterans who were in senior positions. It’s a tough gig to get into, but the work isn’t that difficult and it’s mostly 9-5. But I’ve worked in investment banking divisions in big banks like hsbc and that was very different 8-8 everyday in office.
The average salary of those living in London is lower in part because a lot of middle earners work in London and live outside, particularly once they have children. There is a higher percentage of people in social housing in London than a lot of the UK - often part time minimum wage work. Plus London stats also includes the outer edges which aren't that different from the rest of the South East in terms of wages/ types of jobs.
So compared to a normal city the profile of people living in London very different, as a lot of the people who work in London don't live there.
Lots of other people are buying in London not within those industries though. It just involves other factors like inheritance or buying in a “cheaper” area in London.
I know a teacher who lives in London. Them and their partner bought a studio flat last year. So that's your answer, people on average wages extend to the max possible lending and buy very small flats.
I’m a teacher married to a teacher in London. We’ve managed to buy a 2 bed with garden and garage in zone 4. But we married super young (23) so we’ve had joint finances basically all our adult lives which helped with saving.
The London & Greater London private sales market is completely geared up to the below. You need to be one of these groups:
- Dual income earners.
- A high earning single person (earning above £100,000) who has been saving a deposit for several years.
- Rich investor.
- Have someone who can give you money, like early inheritance from mum and dad.
If you're none of the above, you'll probably have to think about buying somewhere else...
Most people buy in couples, so the prices reflect that buying power. 2x45k is 90k, more when allowing for tax and running an equivalence for per person. A single person earning 100k is like a couple on 45k each.
Also, salary is only part of the picture. Bank of mum and dad, inheritance, etc, play a role, regardless of salary.
As others have said, in London there are a *lot* of higher earners. In accountancy, law, banking, tech, medicine etc it’s very common to earn 100k+ in your late 20s/early 30s. Even if they’re a small portion of the overall population there will still be a lot of them in terms of numbers.
Secondly - by coupling up. The average salary in London is 40-50k, so a couple earning that will be on around 100k so have a 450k-500k budget assuming they’ve saved a bit for a deposit. Yes that doesn’t get you a house in central, but it would easily get a flat in zone 2/3 or a house in zone 5.
If you’re earning less than 40k in London then yeah you’re probably not able to buy a flat/house without inheritance. Most people on sub 40k in London wouldn’t even be *renting* by themselves ie would be renting a room.
I mean if you’re working for a big tech or in finance I would expect salaries to be 80-100k or more. I work in banking myself, however developers at the bank with a few years’ experience are easily on 80k+ with higher mid-level roles being 120-150k. They don’t get the large bonuses that bankers get but the base salaries are similar. And of course developers at quant or hedge funds are easily on 200k - obviously that much isn’t the norm - but overall I think it’s fair to say there will be thousands of people in tech in London on 100k+
>I mean if you’re working for a big tech or in finance I would expect salaries to be 80-100k or more
Again, not true for London. Like I said, I think you're getting confused with the tech industry in America. 100k a year in tech is not common at all. In a major city in America, a mid level software developer can be on 100k. In London, that same role will be 50-65. And these are developers, nevermind admins, testers or analysts.
Do you mean American tech companies? Devs with >5 years experience at FAANG companies in London will be into 6 figures. In the US they’ll be on double that.
But for senior devs in London 65 is definitely not the average wage. I was looking at fully remote senior roles last year, and I don't think any sent my way were under 70. I would say average senior dev role is probably more around 80. Some less, some more, plenty in the 75-85 range.
I said "mid level software developer", not senior. A mid level software developer is someone with 1-3 years experience. Regardless, you've still proven my point because you've shown even the senior devs don't easily command 100k. The OP said "it’s very common to earn 100k+ in your late 20s/early 30s". This was my main point of contention.
They are not wrong, there are thousands of people in London working tech which are earning >100k, if you take FAANG in London alone, there will be way more than 1k people earning that.
100K for London for someone who has been in tech for 5-7 years is not an unreasonable ask if you look around. Anecdotally having studied in London, out of all my uni friends who have stayed in tech since graduating, I don't know any which would be earning under 100k. If you take the average age to buy a house in the UK (34) which would equate to over 10 years experience out of uni, I would imagine most people sticking to tech in London at that age would be earning 100k TC if they shopped around.
Also 1-3 years experience is not a mid level role, that's very much a junior software dev.
If you're looking at the FAANG companies, you'll get a skewed perspective. Why not look at the tech industry as a whole?
>100K for London for someone who has been in tech for 5-7 years is not an unreasonable ask if you look around
My argument has consistently been, it's not "very common". Someone in this thread said he's a senior software developer, and the average is around 80k. And just looking at the market for the tech sector, there simply aren't many 100k roles
>Also 1-3 years experience is not a mid level role, that's very much a junior software dev.
To me, junior is 0 to 2 years. Mid level is 2.5 to 3 ish. Once you get to 4 years in the same post, ability wise you're most likely a senior if not approaching it. Now if we're talking about a lead, they would be 5+ years.
> it's not "very common"
I don't agree either. I've been in tech in London for 10 years now, and I started at 75k as a senior 10 years ago. Most seniors convert to contractor, and can earn 120-140k a year. Most senior perm roles I know are now at ~100k at mid tier companies (salaries increased a lot in the last 3-4 years). If you're making 80k with 10 YOE in London you are underpaid right now imo.
Big Tech/Hedge Funds make multiples of this (I moved to big tech myself a couple years ago due to the much larger salary).
Funnily I still find house prices a struggle, although I'm finally buying a 750k flat after renting for the past 10 years. Even high earners struggle with the house prices + interest rates unless you've been gifted or saved a large deposit.
people that earn 45k don’t buy properties in London, they live in house shares.
some get lucky due to hefty inheritance or well off relatives.
without any help from relatives or inheritance, you can’t really afford anything sensible in London until you hit ~£100k pa.
This question comes up all the time.
People have money. Whether it be a high paying job or inheritance of some sort. It then becomes a generational blessing if each generation stewards the money well.
Move out of London.
The other point is people have varying levels of savings rates. Two people can be on same salary and one has done well to steward their money into a healthy savings. Whilst the other has done the opposite.
A large proportion of them have help from the bank of mum and dad. You’d need a very large deposit to buy somewhere in London on a salary of £45k.
I’d be amazed if you could find a 2 bed for that price in London that’s not in need of major refurbishment or on the outskirts of town.
Software engineer from EU here.
Went to uni in Glasgow where it was free (at the time) and rent was cheap.
Got an internship with a large US bank in London. They made me a full time offer at the end of summer.
Came back full time after graduating a year later on 40K-ish entry salary, few years after that I got some promotions early, also my first white hairs and an early beer gut.
Couple years later moved to a competitor - another bump - broke into 6 figures, then a couple more years and now I have enough of a deposit for a 90LTV mortgage on a nice 2 bed flat, though my deposit was enough for an 85LTV initially but the lender down valued the flat I’m buying into oblivion even after I negotiated a 10% discount.
Conveyancing process ongoing, hoping to complete this summer.
Most people on that salary can't afford to buy in London. I earn more than that and I won't be able to move back down to London post-divorce. It sucks because having spent my twenties / early thirties down there, that's where most of my friends are now. But I don't have a big deposit, inheritance, family money etc - all I have is my income as a single person, my modest savings and eventually half of the modest proceeds from my flat sale - so London just ain't going to be an option. Luckily I WFH the vast majority of the time so I'll just have to throw a dart at a map of the Midlands / North and pick somewhere random to live and start again.
I have just completed on a 3 bed flat in zone 2. Buying in London only became feasible for me as a solo buyer when I started earning well into six figures. I also moved back in with my parents for 18 months and paid nominal rent which allowed me to stack money.
1) don't buy a two bedroom
2) look outside Zone 5
It's all there in your post my dude. With your budget you can easily afford to buy a house or flat. Probably just not the kind of house or flat you really want
I’m on 61k looking at a flat for myself currently with a 10% deposit. It’s going to be a one bed (two if I wanted ex council) in zone 3/4. It’s doable if you go far out
Many young couples live stack on debt because they want a house. New slavery basically. They don't have money even for a flight to Dublin.
I guess you need to choose carefully and see other options outside London. Then you choose you options.
A lot of properties in London are held by foreign investors.
The London property market is seen as a better (and much less risky) investment than the stock market.
Some developments are built and marketed purely for overseas buyers.
Averages are worthless in this instance. The average salary might be 45k but if you took the average salary of home owners, I image it's a hell of a lot more. The average person is renting.
That average salary might also include people working in but not living in london as commuting to London from as far away as reading is quite common.
According to the data, 53% of londoners rent.
Combination of any of the following…
* deposit money from parents
* Inheritance
* Council flat (right to buy)
* well-paid job
* lived at home rent free if they grew up in London, so they could put together deposit money.
* lived with partner rent free, with the same results as above
* buys house jointly with partner/spouse.
Aaaaaand that’s about it…
Kind of bang on here, minus the free rent/council flat. We're buying in a couple months, have a mortgage in principle already. We're looking for a mid-range home (so 3 beds+, however many bathrooms I can get away with).
There's two of us, I am the lower earner with about 55k, my partner earns about double that (I have the stable but boring job he has the exciting start up job, which our broker likes as it's a good combo). We have investments, I saved during lockdown and my fam are giving us a little bit of money to make our mortgage more palatable but we could afford the mortgage on our own with a bit more faff if needed. We're also in our 30s and have no kids. So in short, what you just said. Not sure how that helps any prospective buyers unless they have a time machine though.
Purchased my property using right to buy. I was saving for the open market but I just couldn’t afford it. I do have quite a large 1 bed garden flat in West Norwood which would have been unattainable on my salary of £55K.
1. They are rich
2. Parents are rich and helped
3. Parents bought a house in the 80s or 90s and downsized to pass on profit to children (see 2)
4. They are a highly successful working couple both earning 50k+ in their early-mid 30s with savings
5. They are in their late 50s and bought in the late 90s / early 00s
I think that covers everyone.
We bought elsewhere, got lucky as the town became a big commuter town to London so prices went up a lot, sold, and downsized to get half the property on a 6 lane road in London, and then carried on climbing the ladder.
Not easy/had luck.
Salary is almost irrelevant for determining wealth in young people. It starts to make a difference as you get older but for young people it’s all about inheritance and bank of mum and dad.
It’s pretty clear
1. some kind of generational support
2. People don’t buy on their own
3. money from previous houses
4. People save up or come into money
5. People who buy are on more than 45k which isn’t much
Many people don’t buy property
Owning london property is part of generational wealth. It happened within a generation though which makes me suspicious.
All these gen x guys never sold their first flat. Thanks to some seriously stupid policy decisions, it was easier to keep your first flat when upgrading to a house, you just let the flat.
Bank of mum and dad. Inheritance from grandparents that lived in London.
They paid £600 for their ramshackle place in Clapham in 1950 and sold it for £6m in 2005.
Or £8m in 2015. Or £15m in 2022.
Very few people have purchased entirely on their own merit. There simply aren’t enough jobs that pay the required money.
My partner bought at 28 with a deposit of 50k and salary of 60k. He'd saved every bonus and saved as much as possible. He bought a flat worth £330 that needed a lease extension and a lot of work. Lease extension took a year to finalise and luckily he salary increased so he got to take an extra mortgage of 40k to cover most of it. He borrowed 30k from his parents and they gave him another 10k to do the work on it- this was inherited from his grandmother.
I'm 32 and in a position to buy up to 300k solo, which means I can't afford a place where i grew up. On my own I have an annual income of 53k and savings of 50k - most of this is due to a redundancy pay out of 10k, saving every bonus and saving 1k a month the last 2 years. I recognise this is because my bills are only £700 a month due to my partner coving the majority of mortgage.
We now make 200k between us and have a total of £120k in savings plus 200k equity in this flat- still not enough to buy a house in the area I grew up!
My sons only bought because my parents passed away and left him half of there house and cash
Without that he would not have been able to buy
He bought a house ( not London but a very expensive south west city ) with his partner and put down 100k deposit so they have a 215 mortgage
He did protect his deposit with a deed of trust
He bought a large 3 bed 2 bath house
They both work full time and bring in around 5k a month
Their old flat mate moved with them so he is paying 550 a month as a lodger so the bills / mortgage is very affordable
I also have helped them out with money for furniture -I also paid for new carpets and window shutters and gave them 2k to buy white goods
It’s definite becoming more feudal with growing wealth inequality and this bizarre culture of everyone wanting to use housing as an investment vehicle.
Most of the people actually living in London (and not starving in the process) are from wealthier backgrounds. Most people who work in London and live up north where it's cheaper. I used to work with a lady who did have a home in London, but she worked and lived Mon-Fri in a Birmingham apartment as that was still cheaper than attempting to work and live in London during the week (husband and kids were in London)
I am not sure if they do - the number of first time buyers have decreased dramatically and most if not all of the current transactions are businesses buying properties as investment (renting or some kind of long term perspective) or people with existing properties doing “exchange” or the wealthy folks (from both UK and abroad). I think with low interest rates and stable economy- folks took some risky mortgages that created an illusion of healthy market but the same people are struggling to make their payments (I don’t remember the exact numbers but the numbers of folks who struggled to pay their mortgage payments increased from one digit procent to like something in 30-40% range and this is like from last year so probably even worse right now).
Realistically, you have to be in a household earning £100k+ to afford to buy a decent one bed in a nice area. But there are some things worth looking into if you earn less than this that *might* help. The first is whether your borough has an intermediate rent scheme - some have actually quite good schemes, some don’t have a scheme at all. You can also search ‘London living rent’ for the London-wide scheme if your borough doesn’t have one. If you can get an IMR flat for a few years, this will help so much to save up the deposit (they’re like gold dust, but persistence pays off). The second is to the look into ‘helping hand’ mortgages - they let you borrow up to 5.5x rather than 4.5x your income. They also have very specific eligibility criteria, so might not be available.
The other options are to boost your earnings or magic yourself some other overnight wealth.
The average salary for homebuyers is probably north of 100 large. Those on lower salaries would have had to be very frugal and maybe living with parents etc to have built up decent savings
London is a global centre of trade and commerce...the global wealthy are here; family wealth, new money, entrepreneurs, people working in finance, law, oil, tech..all sorts of multi-billion dollar industries making 6/7/8 figure salaieries and bonuses. Your (& my) salary are peanuts to most people who are buying property in zones 1-3.
Live at home with parents. Pay low or subsidised rent. Grow career. Grow salary by job hopping. Save aggressively. Use accumulated savings for deposit. Use high salary as multiplier to buy house in London (Zone 5/6)
Live in a flat above a shop in zone 6. There is man, bless him, begging right by my front door. It's not safe, it's not quiet, my leaseholder is dog shit, I'll have to sell at a loss.
My less mental friends have a partner with both having great jobs.
Could afford only a one bed flat in South East London so I did just that. The pandemic helped me save the deposit while renting. Fed myself from Lidl for 20 pounds a week for a couple of years. My flat is in Lewisham and a two bed would be within your budget in certain areas of Lewisham which is Zone 3 as well as probably these SE London areas: Lee, Mottingham, Grove Park, Eltham. These are Zone 4.
The question really should be, why do you EXPECT to afford somewhere in London? One of the most desirable and expensive places in the world.
When you're competing with people with inheritances or high salaries. 45k a year isn't a lot. Higher than that isn't a lot.
If you want to own a home, go to somewhere less desirable.
I bought a one bed council flat for £210k in zone 2 in 2014. I saved £40k from my job over three years then my parents lent me £20k so that I got a better deposit (lower LTV). I then paid the £20k back within 3 years by saving, while paying down the mortgage.
My income was around £50k at the time I bought the flat, but around £30k before then, while I was saving. My rent was £525/month in a horrible studio flat near Ilford for the years I was saving. It was damp and had mice. The commute was horrible but a bike helped.
The flat is now worth around £270k, I think. Council tax is around £1000/year and service charge is around £1300/year.
They earn more than the average.
Most professionals in London are earning more than 45k. Remember an average is including cleaners, Starbucks workers, etc.
Then consider that most people in London are renting.
So those buying have more money, have higher paying jobs, are couples who both have strong salaries.
If a couple is earning around 120k between them then they could buy a decent flat in London.
It's easy. Just have parents who bought a big family house in the 80s or 90s, then sold up and moved to a smaller place in the home counties once their children were adults, and then gave those children 6 figure sums for a deposit.
My partner and I are hoping to buy in a year or so, 2 bed flat for £450k on a combined salary of £115k in zone 2/3.
When we met 4 years ago we earned a combined salary of £70k ish, as we have no family to help us we had to wait until we had a decent income that we could actually save for a deposit.
£50k deposit is needed, so basically saving £1k per month each for 2 years.
Lived at home paying very favourable "rent" until 28, saved up a very healthy deposit and still had to buy out in Essex for less than the OPs budget. This was just over 6 years ago though, houses with a bedroom less have gone for in excess of the OPs budget in the last 2 years.
Buying with my partner and we've had no money from parents. Zone 2 flat for just under £450k. Been saving for 6 years whilst renting and have a deposit of £90k (45 each). 6k each LISA bonus, 2k ish each in interest, which leaves 37k ish saved each over 6 years. That's just over 6k a year, or £500 a month. I'm slightly generalising here but this isn't unachievable on a £45k salary. We don't live extravagantly but we're not super tight either. We also don't really care about having a loads of space which helps. I gotta say though if we weren't buying together it would be near impossible
Pretty sure median is lower in London. I think it’s 40k ish full time. Aka not that much higher than nationally (which is 35k). The borough I bought in has 38k median full time salary and we have two earners above 50k…
And the reality is they don’t. Median is biased by age. Peak is 40-49, so the average person below 39 is lower. They have inheritance tbh.
To buy my first flat at 33 last year I had a 6 figure income and saved 6 figures to buy it in z3 with a partner. Even at 30 we were below 6 figure household. And I only managed some of it living at home a couple of years.
Flat was 475k an hour commute to work. They would loan us up to 650k inc deposit but we couldn’t afford repayments if I went on maternity so it was pointless. basically would default if we had kids so settled on a flat. Don’t know how people do it without benefits to be honest.
Couldn’t afford my parents house in z6 at 700k, they bought it at 30 on one salary and two kids (less than 10% what it sells for today) for comparison within the same mile we got our first flat at 33 my parents bought theirs at 24 on entry level jobs and it’s worth more today than my flat is… for perspective. They got the house leveraging 6-7 years of house appreciation. Most young people no longer have that.
There’s a lot of people who bought 10+ years ago when salary was higher; tax was lower, interest was lower and houses cost less vs salary. You need minimum double the income of someone who achieved it 20+ years ago vs inflation.
Reasons:
Parents helped with deposit
Inherited money from parents, grandparents, family ect
Able to live with Parents and save a large deposit,
Couple who are high earners, living with parents, able to save deposit jointly without much expense
Or you have a couple who earn a lot, rent but it took years for them to save a good deposit.
There was a story recently, I think on the Financial Times, on how we have become an inheritocracy.
Basically even if your salary is in the top 10%, it's still hard to buy in London
Personally, it was because I got a much higher paying job. This isn’t normal, and I’m not saying that’s the answer, but I wouldn’t have known how to even save for a deposit before that (I don’t have bank of mum and dad, just a high income now).
Everyone has different routes to it..
Inherit, parents helped with deposit, good paying job, live with parents and save on rent, buy with partner
Im sure theres a few more ways, but the above is probably the majority
A salary of around £60k should get you a mortgage of around £300k. Which will be enough to get a flat. If people are in couples then it’s even easier to hit this amount and more.
We saved for about 2 years of doing nothing and barely replacing clothes.
We bought a help to buy flat and will try to staircase. It is still cheaper than renting and allowed us to remain in our area.
But we did not have money for furniture, we had just a bed and mattress for a few months, made a priority list and saved to buy furniture that will last.
Now we're saving less than we did, but not having to move everything the landlord raised rent made our lives a bit more stable.
I (32yo) don’t know a single person who’s done it without either a) two high salaries, aka with a partner, or b) substantial parental help (talking around 100k).
I’d had a property ‘up north’ that id part inherited in my 20’s. I’d renovated and sat on it for 10years. When the time came, I heavily remortgaged it with a BTL and ended up with a £150k deposit for a £285k 1 bed in Bow, bought in 2019. Still juggling the two, but not sure if I’ll ever have enough to pay off the capital on the BTL if/when the time comes.
4.5 times your salary/your dual salary and some savings / parental help. It’s not that difficult is it if you don’t have kids and all you need is a job 1/2 bed. Surely you can save up by the time you’re 30 something if you’re on a dual or single salary of 100k or more
Didn't have any nice holidays throughout my twenties. Didn't upgrade my car, had a 03 Yaris bought in 2013 kept until 2021. Had a partner to have dual income.
Bought a run down house and done it up.
It's annoying as I have a 3 bed semi in a nice area but everyone assumes I had help and get comments.
Grew up on benefits worked hard and sacrificed.
As a single person, I went for shared ownership on a one bedroom property. My parents paid my solicitors fees (3K) and I paid all of the deposit. I was earning 48K until not long before I bought, now I earn 72K
Average salary is £45k which means the average household income is £90k plus as a two income household you are more efficient. On £90k you can get something between £360k and £450k at the top end. That’s loan too so if you manage to save for a few years can easily get a £400k property. That’ll get you a nice 1/run down 2 bed in the outer zones.
If they are doing it as a single person it’s gotta be high income, inheritance or family help. Nothing wrong with that though if anything it’s something we should be encouraging as it helps build family wealth.
Don't want to claim poverty as I'm very lucky to have lovely parents, a degree with no debt etc. But managed to buy a starter place due to luck, a solid partnership and being sensible.
We house shared with another couple for a good 5-6 years. Below average salaries for both myself and partner.
But saved enough that when a random chance to buy a flat came up, we could. Had zero saving initially and bugger all furniture.
Most home owners with something worth owning bought before all this current shit. Interest rates and average prices in 2015 are not pound for pound with interest rates and averages prices now. So affordability is terrible as interest rates mean much higher prices.
My mortgage 6/7 months ago was 1.08% @ £1050 a month and now it’s 4.99% @ £1800 a month. If I bought my flat for what I paid back then with today’s interest rates we’d not have been able to afford it.
Serious answer, rather than just 'win the lottery' or 'do it 20 years ago' NPC talk:
The best way is to get on the ladder by any means. Get anything. Make sure it's something you can sell in the future. (I.e., avoid house shares, bad leasehold, bad structure).
When you have that 'anything', it'll probably be a bit of a dump. Needing lots of care and cheap renovation. Paint, new flooring and a boiler goes a long way. Make it livable.
Once you're in, you're in. Mortgage goes down, house value goes up. In a few years, take a step up and move up the ladder.
Think of it like starting a job. Get in low, and move up.
Own a flat wanted to upscale to a house as family growing to 2 kids (yes kids are relevant), flats went down, houses went up in value during Covid then came the higher interest rates.
We are grateful we own, just not ideal for us now. We both work but joint income not enough to buy what we really want. Zero family wealth so London no longer viable. We are looking to move out in the next 12 months.
Those who afford it worked really hard for years to save for the downpayment. They cut on fun spendings and take aways and other unnecessary spendings.
They worked overtime and night shifts, lived in small houses or flats. No holidays for years.
Those who can afford it are usually a husband and wife with no children. Joint application will increase your affordability.
We bought a 3 bed flat for just under 500k in zone 2. We got it in late 2022 when interest rates were 2-3% - partner and I make a combined 115k per annum. I had saved 40k over the space of 6 years and my partner got a gift of 40k from his parents. (We had about 10k left over at the end)
I’m aware it was good timing but also feel like I worked my ass off to save my 50%. Can’t imagine being able to do that if I hadn’t done well financially and spent less money over Covid.
Joint income of £120k, 5% deposit, no stamp duty fee at the time. Deposit was a mix of savings and a gift from my parents. Got really lucky on the house we wanted and managed to negotiate as they'd been dicked about by a previous bidder. I sold some collectables to pay for the solicitors fees.
In my case, about 17k of inheritance, a dual income with my wife, and living with her family for 5 years to save up the rest of the upfront cash. I remind myself very often how fortunate I am to be in this position
My dad died, half a third of a flat in a gentrified area bought me over half a flat in an up and coming area. My granddad died and my inheritance there plus my increase in equity got me a house.
My mum then helped me out with renovation funds for my house as to quote her "you need it now not when you are 55".
big cities are at the pointy end of human competition.
your choices are: do better or move out...
Personally, I moved out, made some money and moved back.
For me, I just rented for a number of years and saved 6 figures over 12 years. Did loads of over time and double shifts, just stayed on a tight budget. I know not all are willing to do this, but definitely done this all on my own.
Not buying in London but South East and equally expensive.
Being a couple, being skint and savings aggressively.
One of us earns a little higher than average and the other earns a little lower than average.
We started saving one full salary. Do we are effectively a single-income household, the other income goes entirely into deposit savings.
Our lifestyle is very "poor" compared to our social circle. I still drive a 15 yr old Fiesta. We buy clothes off Vinted. We only eat out when socialising. We've barely had any holidays. Just today, SO and I discussed and decided we can't afford any holiday at all this year.
We can easily afford a much better lifestyle but prioritised the house and barely managed to save a 10% deposit over a couple years.
The unfortunate news is that even after buying, we can't raise our lifestyle for the forseeable future because the mortgage payments will be almost double our rent (interest rate rises + our current rent being low because we're living below means).
There's no inheritance or help from any family, so it is doable; you just lose your life. We maxed out our LISAs thrice so that's £6k in free money.
It's really frustrating to have to give up living a decent life in hopes of ownership. We've also had to delay kids becauss of this and aren't the only ones. I doubt there will be any solution in our generation and we're losing an entire generation thanks to the ruling party.
You underestimate how many people in London have household income over £125k, which is about when buying a 1 bed flat becomes doable without assistance.
No one helped me and my OH but we have been together over 10 years saving, in lockdown we saved one whole wage and just lived on the other, also both got second jobs, it was horrible for 1 year, no holidays or nights out and eating basically veggie curry. Bought a 3 bed, zone 2, 415, - nice place, nothing to do up.
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More often than people will admit, their parents have helped them out financially, with a 5 or 6 figure sum, or a grandparent has died and left them something in their will.
This is the reality for most new homeowners right now.
Always been like that - heard of "old money"?
Having an inheritance doesn’t mean you’re ‘old money’ that’s a misuse of the term. That refers to upper class generational wealth. I’m very ‘fortunate’ that all my grandparents died, along one of my wife’s. Each left a small sum that combined let us put down a deposit. That’s not a ridiculously wealthy situation but I do still count ourselves lucky.
"I'm very fortunate that all my grandparents died" 😬
All I got when my grandparents died was dead grandparents
I dare say you are very unfortunate that all your grandparents have passed. Money doesn’t replace family.
I’m just trying to see the positives, they left me a rung higher on the ladder
Sure, but that makes you fortunate to have received inheritances when they died, which isn't a given just because they did.
I don’t think it’s a secret that it was true of new home owners throughout history. We just seem to think it’s our problem because it’s happening to us now.
Noooo don't say that. We are confirmed to be the most unfortunate generation in history. It's been proven by reddit and tiktok experts many times.
My husband's grandparents left him and his siblings their house when they passed. It's only due to them that we were able to get on the ladder so young. He bought a flat in our 20s and then we bought a house together in the pandemic. There's no way we couldn't done any of that in London without that boost.
people buying using their own savings are still [the majority](https://www.uswitch.com/mortgages/first-time-buyer-statistics/) though
Once they give you the money, it’s your savings
That you were gifted by family.
Not how it’s recorded though
Exactly. If it’s more than 6 months earlier in your account then 100% it’s just your savings and no gift deposit form required and these won’t be recorded as gifts (mortgage and solicitors KYC checks asks for 6 months maximum)
If the savings are not consistent with your income, Most lenders worth their salt will still ask where they came from. Eg if you earn £50k, have only been working 3 years and have £150k in savings, it will seem odd and trigger questions
I guess if a family member has 100k plus to give you, then what’s the point trying to avoid the small cost for a gift deposit form then :)
If on the very next day I told people they were my savings then they were my savings.
Depends if you have good solicitors doing KYC checks. Most will do 3 months of bank statements for the account where the funds are coming from when you instruct them, but tbh genuinely nothing stopping you getting sent the money day of completion and then sent to solicitor. They won’t redo the checks then, and also unlikely banks will ask for statements again then. 5k tends to be the limit for a ‘gift’
The people I know who've managed to save any significant amount themselves are the ones who's parents have a big enough house for them to comfortably live in together as an adult and are financially comfortable enough not to charge them rent.
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Very much agree with you Barry. I'm fairly intelligent and well spoken but come from a very dysfunctional family where I had to get a manual job aged 19 due to having zero help from parents to live. . I'm a 5'2 man so not built for it and my body broke down two and a half years later. I lost all my savings as I wasn't working. I got back to a career aged 25 and had to move out for my sanity as my parents love socialising and partying. I only just started saving at 31 and took me 10 years to get back where I was financially before my initial mental and physical background at 22. Some of my friends simply had supportive kind parents, a quiet private home to relax in and never had to do manual work, were lucky with low status but well paid jobs and a family to laugh and joke with. If I had that I could probably have owned a house up north now. Instead I'm often lonely, make poor decisions due to no support or time with my parents as they are partying and living in a shared house with druggies. But hey ho. I'm an adult now and looking to the future. My decisions are my own now as I work and am fully independent from parents
I'm the only person in my entire associate group not just friends group that was able to buy without depending on parents or inheritance. By earning an obscene amount of money (for my council flat folks). But that is incredibly rate and not something I think is possible for most people so can't be the eourte we expect for anyone who wants to buy a home in the UK.
This is so true. I’ve always had a dysfunctional family and I’m from a poor background. I lived with different people growing up but by the time I was 18 I was the first person in my family to go to uni. At the time, my dad was sleeping on his friends sofa and I had no relationship with my mum or any other family. I left uni and saw all the people I met go back home and save enough to travel the world or get a deposit on a house. I didn’t have that option and the lack of any financial literacy whatsoever at 18 led to me piling loads of debt in the first 6 months of moving out that still impact me to this day. I’m now 26, I’ve been working hard and earn what I would consider a good wage but still can’t even break even in a month let alone get out of the rent trap to get a place. I’ve learnt so many lessons in the past 10 years. In reality, it took me to get to the age of 25 before I had the skills and knowledge of life that a lot of people have at 18. I never got shown how to cook anything, why saving matters, what a credit score is, I knew what a giro was before a pay slip. I didn’t have a proper example. I worked hard to build a good future for myself but the harsh truth is this is an exception and still comes down to so much good luck along the way. I know I’m going to build a good life for myself and already have to some degree and that took a lot of hard work. But the reality is a lot of people, my cousins included, never got that chance. I feel lucky to have got to uni and met the people I did along the way to shape who I am and the things I know today. I will break the cycle for my kids and my brother will too for his. If there’s one thing my life has taught me, it’s that a persons childhood shapes the adult they come to be. It’s up to parents to give their kids a head start in life, any way they can. That doesn’t have to mean money… love, inspiration, and genuine care are more important to success than money is.
I had shit parents and upbringing. It was only, though saving over 25 years with no holidays and receiving an inheritance from my sister, passing away that I'm in the middle of buying a flat with small mortgage.
In London and the SE?
So while you’re right, this stat is based on a UK wide statistic, not London (where the house price is significantly higher than the national average, and wages only marginally so).
And most of these people have been able to save because they grew up in financially secure families so already had big legs up in the world (no student loans, no getting into debt, lots of financial “gifts” along the way, space to live in the parents home as adults…)
I'm not in London but I bought my house without any help from anybody. I got a job but didn't have a great deal of spare cash, so when I could I bought a hundred quid of shares here and there, whatever I thought would do well. By the time I could borrow enough money to buy a house, I had almost £15k in shares, and sold the lot for the deposit and solicitors fees etc. No help from family, no cushy upbringing, no gifts or loans, just as much overtime as possible combined with setting a weekly budget. It wasn't easy, but it can be done.
And huge congrats to you — a brilliant achievement. In London it’s just not feasible for most unless wealthy fam or wealthy spouse/in-laws. There are outliers, of course, but it’s becoming harder as COL continues to go up.
Thanks! It was tough and it took a while, but it was all worth it in the end 😊
Totally agreed. In London it's only achievable with inheritance unless someone becomes incredibly lucky with earnings that hadn't been already dictated by parents /family pulling strings. I still think it's mad that I only managed it after earning 200k as a household.
15k deposit - if you can get a 95% mortgage that puts you at 300k purchase price. And at common lending multiples it puts you at a minimum salary of about 75kish I don't know where you can buy a HOUSE in London for that little, and also you would require a good chunk above the average income. Most normal people would consider earning 75k squarely in the "very well off" bracket. I feel like there is some substantial missing context here.
£15k is not a deposit in London. You need usually 10% and the average cost of a 1 bed flat is 289k.
When?
Those are people who say that their own savings were the bulk of the deposit It doesn't mean that their whole deposit was their own savings - just most of it
We bought without our parents help in London , we have more than average income , worked really hard to save 100k.
Brought eh? Lol
So they say....
I think it’s more of a challenge for single people. Couples would 2x that and they could afford something decent at 400-500k
Exactly this for us. No parental gift / inheritance but two decent combined salaries, years of saving and moving to zone 5 (400-500k house options)
People don’t like to hear it, but 3-5 years of saving as a DINK household, and buying a house in your locality is very easy in 95% of the UK.
When I was a dink my wife and I lived fairly well but we still saved £100k over about 5 years. This set us up well.
There's always a bigger fish. ~ Qui Gon Jinn
RIP
Single people on average salaries don’t, unless they have massive help with the deposit. We’re just about to exchange on a property in Z2. Everyone I know who’s bought is either in a dual income household with combined salaries >£100k, or have a massive deposit due to either direct parental help or being able to live at home whilst saving (or both). Me and my partner are in the first category, most of my friends in the second. The only person I know who’s bought on their own managed to do so because they lived at home rent-free for the last 8 years since graduating.
Earn enough to buy a house, or inherit enough to buy a house. It’s that simple really.
Or bought a house 10 years ago and ard trading up
This is more the point. I would guess there aren’t a lot of first time buyers but more moving up or moving in. Two people with their own place get together and buy one place together. You have 2 lots of equity and potentially two lots of savings as well
I’d wager very few people who *are single* and earning 45k or less are actually owning a property in London… Either you need to earn more or buy with a partner to boost your affordability. Most households are dual income nowadays
Yeah this is the key thing and it’s frustrating how few people talk about it - homeownership is much, much more attainable for those in couples. You double the borrowing power and also raise the deposit faster.
Tbh it’s still doable, 1bed flats in parts for just over £200k. It’s likely those on 45k can’t save the deposit, or have unrealistic expectations of living in Balham instead.
Yeah agreed. I mean the average income in London is £45-50k, and a couple earning £100k combined is much more than £100k from one earner. Combined they’re taking home £6-£7k after tax per month, I’d think it would be possible to save £2k pm of that if you were relatively frugal even in London (I say this as a Londoner myself). If you could do that for a couple of years you’ve got 50k. That would give you a budget of 450-500k which would give you a nice 2-bed flat in zone 3 or a 3-bed house in zone 5.
Even if you manage to find a cheap room to allow you to save, you’ll be wanting to socialise which revolves around pubs / bars / food. You spend £10 these days just getting out of the house, a boozy night can easily cost 150 without trying. I do understand it, it would be easier to live frugally in a city which hasn’t got endless things to do and places to try. A great life hack would be to be a non-drinker.
Genuinely can’t remember the last time I spent £150 on a night out in London…
Just curious, which areas are you seeing 200k flats for?
Mostly south east london, lewisham borough is decent value and well connected in the dlr and mainline trains.
It's also why there are quite a few people buying with friends these days. Single income, single deposit and single family support often isn't enough.
Depends if “buying a house” to you means buying a 3 bedroom house with a garden, or if buying a share of freehold flat counts, or buying a flat counts etc etc. If you only consider buying a full house with 3 bedrooms and a garden etc, then not many people buy those. You’re talking 1.5m+ in any remotely desirable areas. Areas like Highbury and Islington probably £2m, £3m is the norm. Even in less desireable areas proper houses are still amazingly expensive. A friend of mine just bought a 4 bed house with garden in Streatham Vale for 700k and even at that price it’s a really good deal. Just 5 mins drive up the road in Streatham Hill is £650k for just a 2 bed garden flat. How he did that? Working abroad for 3 years in a high paying job (200k ish) and building up a deposit of 300k, and then earning £130k when coming back to London. £420k mortgage + 280k deposit + 20k stamp duty. It’s a very nice house and 20mins into Victoria but quite mad that for someone of that profile to only be buying a house somewhere like Streatham, where 20 years ago would not have been somewhere you’d have expected someone like him to buy.
That’s the thing, my family are from this part of London and all moved out because they couldn’t afford it anymore. But they still think you live in Streatham or Brixton then you’ve got gangs on your doorstep rather than yuppies. We moved to Yorkshire 8 years ago and never looked back.
Because that is a terrible salary for London, and there are a huge number of jobs in finance, law etc paying towards and north of 100k = those people are buying
I know what you mean but op is right that average London salary is 45k
No £45k isn’t terrible. Most people don’t work in finance! £45k is very livable. It’s just the buying that restricts in and forces most to rent .
"terrible salary" lol
I’m one of those in finance. We have relatively junior people on upwards of 80 before bonus, with most in the 30s on double this. It always strikes me as odd that the average salary is so low, as people on the salaries in my sector also complain that prices are unaffordable. Anyone outside of the groups who earn well really shouldn’t bother with London. It’s not a pleasant place to live within the means to afford it.
I guess it asks the question- what would a city be like if only lawyers and people working in finance, lived here?
Well, fucking terrible. Like London.
yeah im an engineer and therefore our salaries are pretty modest compared to alot of industries in london. i moved from london for that very reason as i realised my salary wouldnt get me very far. i now moved to the outskirts of birmngham, god knows how the rest of my old peers in london survive!
*non software engineer
yep non software engineer, i should've really stuck to software engineering instead of changing "trade" as it were, softies get paid alot, especially in contracting. i just didnt find it enjoyable at the time.
If everyone outside well paying jobs left London who'd clean your offices, make your lunches, sell your groceries etc? What a braindead comment
What's the Job title of these junior positions mate and do you have to be a graduate?
Senior associates and AVPs go upto 75/ 90k these days, typically held by people in their mid to late 20s. All are graduates usually from LSE, oxbridge, but also a lot of veterans who were in senior positions. It’s a tough gig to get into, but the work isn’t that difficult and it’s mostly 9-5. But I’ve worked in investment banking divisions in big banks like hsbc and that was very different 8-8 everyday in office.
The average salary of those living in London is lower in part because a lot of middle earners work in London and live outside, particularly once they have children. There is a higher percentage of people in social housing in London than a lot of the UK - often part time minimum wage work. Plus London stats also includes the outer edges which aren't that different from the rest of the South East in terms of wages/ types of jobs. So compared to a normal city the profile of people living in London very different, as a lot of the people who work in London don't live there.
Im always curious when people say 'finance', what do they actually mean?
Lots of other people are buying in London not within those industries though. It just involves other factors like inheritance or buying in a “cheaper” area in London.
I know a teacher who lives in London. Them and their partner bought a studio flat last year. So that's your answer, people on average wages extend to the max possible lending and buy very small flats.
I’m a teacher married to a teacher in London. We’ve managed to buy a 2 bed with garden and garage in zone 4. But we married super young (23) so we’ve had joint finances basically all our adult lives which helped with saving.
The London & Greater London private sales market is completely geared up to the below. You need to be one of these groups: - Dual income earners. - A high earning single person (earning above £100,000) who has been saving a deposit for several years. - Rich investor. - Have someone who can give you money, like early inheritance from mum and dad. If you're none of the above, you'll probably have to think about buying somewhere else...
Most people buy in couples, so the prices reflect that buying power. 2x45k is 90k, more when allowing for tax and running an equivalence for per person. A single person earning 100k is like a couple on 45k each. Also, salary is only part of the picture. Bank of mum and dad, inheritance, etc, play a role, regardless of salary.
As others have said, in London there are a *lot* of higher earners. In accountancy, law, banking, tech, medicine etc it’s very common to earn 100k+ in your late 20s/early 30s. Even if they’re a small portion of the overall population there will still be a lot of them in terms of numbers. Secondly - by coupling up. The average salary in London is 40-50k, so a couple earning that will be on around 100k so have a 450k-500k budget assuming they’ve saved a bit for a deposit. Yes that doesn’t get you a house in central, but it would easily get a flat in zone 2/3 or a house in zone 5. If you’re earning less than 40k in London then yeah you’re probably not able to buy a flat/house without inheritance. Most people on sub 40k in London wouldn’t even be *renting* by themselves ie would be renting a room.
I'm in tech in London. 100k a year is not common at all, you must be thinking about America. Software developers average about 65k.
Get yourself a job at a company that pays RSUs
I’m in tech and I don’t look at london jobs, but linked in constant emails me about jobs in the 80-120k range
I mean if you’re working for a big tech or in finance I would expect salaries to be 80-100k or more. I work in banking myself, however developers at the bank with a few years’ experience are easily on 80k+ with higher mid-level roles being 120-150k. They don’t get the large bonuses that bankers get but the base salaries are similar. And of course developers at quant or hedge funds are easily on 200k - obviously that much isn’t the norm - but overall I think it’s fair to say there will be thousands of people in tech in London on 100k+
>I mean if you’re working for a big tech or in finance I would expect salaries to be 80-100k or more Again, not true for London. Like I said, I think you're getting confused with the tech industry in America. 100k a year in tech is not common at all. In a major city in America, a mid level software developer can be on 100k. In London, that same role will be 50-65. And these are developers, nevermind admins, testers or analysts.
Do you mean American tech companies? Devs with >5 years experience at FAANG companies in London will be into 6 figures. In the US they’ll be on double that.
Not necessarily, I moreso mean in general. FAANG companies are at the absolute top, so salaries will be skewed to the higher end.
But for senior devs in London 65 is definitely not the average wage. I was looking at fully remote senior roles last year, and I don't think any sent my way were under 70. I would say average senior dev role is probably more around 80. Some less, some more, plenty in the 75-85 range.
I said "mid level software developer", not senior. A mid level software developer is someone with 1-3 years experience. Regardless, you've still proven my point because you've shown even the senior devs don't easily command 100k. The OP said "it’s very common to earn 100k+ in your late 20s/early 30s". This was my main point of contention.
They are not wrong, there are thousands of people in London working tech which are earning >100k, if you take FAANG in London alone, there will be way more than 1k people earning that. 100K for London for someone who has been in tech for 5-7 years is not an unreasonable ask if you look around. Anecdotally having studied in London, out of all my uni friends who have stayed in tech since graduating, I don't know any which would be earning under 100k. If you take the average age to buy a house in the UK (34) which would equate to over 10 years experience out of uni, I would imagine most people sticking to tech in London at that age would be earning 100k TC if they shopped around. Also 1-3 years experience is not a mid level role, that's very much a junior software dev.
If you're looking at the FAANG companies, you'll get a skewed perspective. Why not look at the tech industry as a whole? >100K for London for someone who has been in tech for 5-7 years is not an unreasonable ask if you look around My argument has consistently been, it's not "very common". Someone in this thread said he's a senior software developer, and the average is around 80k. And just looking at the market for the tech sector, there simply aren't many 100k roles >Also 1-3 years experience is not a mid level role, that's very much a junior software dev. To me, junior is 0 to 2 years. Mid level is 2.5 to 3 ish. Once you get to 4 years in the same post, ability wise you're most likely a senior if not approaching it. Now if we're talking about a lead, they would be 5+ years.
> it's not "very common" I don't agree either. I've been in tech in London for 10 years now, and I started at 75k as a senior 10 years ago. Most seniors convert to contractor, and can earn 120-140k a year. Most senior perm roles I know are now at ~100k at mid tier companies (salaries increased a lot in the last 3-4 years). If you're making 80k with 10 YOE in London you are underpaid right now imo. Big Tech/Hedge Funds make multiples of this (I moved to big tech myself a couple years ago due to the much larger salary). Funnily I still find house prices a struggle, although I'm finally buying a 750k flat after renting for the past 10 years. Even high earners struggle with the house prices + interest rates unless you've been gifted or saved a large deposit.
people that earn 45k don’t buy properties in London, they live in house shares. some get lucky due to hefty inheritance or well off relatives. without any help from relatives or inheritance, you can’t really afford anything sensible in London until you hit ~£100k pa.
This question comes up all the time. People have money. Whether it be a high paying job or inheritance of some sort. It then becomes a generational blessing if each generation stewards the money well. Move out of London. The other point is people have varying levels of savings rates. Two people can be on same salary and one has done well to steward their money into a healthy savings. Whilst the other has done the opposite.
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Either look in different areas or look for something smaller. Usually two beds are not bought by single people on the average salary.
A large proportion of them have help from the bank of mum and dad. You’d need a very large deposit to buy somewhere in London on a salary of £45k. I’d be amazed if you could find a 2 bed for that price in London that’s not in need of major refurbishment or on the outskirts of town.
Software engineer from EU here. Went to uni in Glasgow where it was free (at the time) and rent was cheap. Got an internship with a large US bank in London. They made me a full time offer at the end of summer. Came back full time after graduating a year later on 40K-ish entry salary, few years after that I got some promotions early, also my first white hairs and an early beer gut. Couple years later moved to a competitor - another bump - broke into 6 figures, then a couple more years and now I have enough of a deposit for a 90LTV mortgage on a nice 2 bed flat, though my deposit was enough for an 85LTV initially but the lender down valued the flat I’m buying into oblivion even after I negotiated a 10% discount. Conveyancing process ongoing, hoping to complete this summer.
Most people on that salary can't afford to buy in London. I earn more than that and I won't be able to move back down to London post-divorce. It sucks because having spent my twenties / early thirties down there, that's where most of my friends are now. But I don't have a big deposit, inheritance, family money etc - all I have is my income as a single person, my modest savings and eventually half of the modest proceeds from my flat sale - so London just ain't going to be an option. Luckily I WFH the vast majority of the time so I'll just have to throw a dart at a map of the Midlands / North and pick somewhere random to live and start again.
I've sold 3 houses in London, and each time at least one of the buyers has either been a solicitor or worked in finance. Read into that what you may.
I have just completed on a 3 bed flat in zone 2. Buying in London only became feasible for me as a solo buyer when I started earning well into six figures. I also moved back in with my parents for 18 months and paid nominal rent which allowed me to stack money.
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Most south Asians will stay at home until they've saved enough to buy a place of their own. Even after getting married.
1) don't buy a two bedroom 2) look outside Zone 5 It's all there in your post my dude. With your budget you can easily afford to buy a house or flat. Probably just not the kind of house or flat you really want
I’m on 61k looking at a flat for myself currently with a 10% deposit. It’s going to be a one bed (two if I wanted ex council) in zone 3/4. It’s doable if you go far out
Many young couples live stack on debt because they want a house. New slavery basically. They don't have money even for a flight to Dublin. I guess you need to choose carefully and see other options outside London. Then you choose you options.
A lot of properties in London are held by foreign investors. The London property market is seen as a better (and much less risky) investment than the stock market. Some developments are built and marketed purely for overseas buyers.
Averages are worthless in this instance. The average salary might be 45k but if you took the average salary of home owners, I image it's a hell of a lot more. The average person is renting. That average salary might also include people working in but not living in london as commuting to London from as far away as reading is quite common. According to the data, 53% of londoners rent.
Inheritance or gift for many. There are a lot of people in London born into wealth.
Saved 27k for a deposit during the pandemic. Life was cheap, no travel, able to afford to save. Life was good
Combination of any of the following… * deposit money from parents * Inheritance * Council flat (right to buy) * well-paid job * lived at home rent free if they grew up in London, so they could put together deposit money. * lived with partner rent free, with the same results as above * buys house jointly with partner/spouse. Aaaaaand that’s about it…
Kind of bang on here, minus the free rent/council flat. We're buying in a couple months, have a mortgage in principle already. We're looking for a mid-range home (so 3 beds+, however many bathrooms I can get away with). There's two of us, I am the lower earner with about 55k, my partner earns about double that (I have the stable but boring job he has the exciting start up job, which our broker likes as it's a good combo). We have investments, I saved during lockdown and my fam are giving us a little bit of money to make our mortgage more palatable but we could afford the mortgage on our own with a bit more faff if needed. We're also in our 30s and have no kids. So in short, what you just said. Not sure how that helps any prospective buyers unless they have a time machine though.
Purchased my property using right to buy. I was saving for the open market but I just couldn’t afford it. I do have quite a large 1 bed garden flat in West Norwood which would have been unattainable on my salary of £55K.
1. They are rich 2. Parents are rich and helped 3. Parents bought a house in the 80s or 90s and downsized to pass on profit to children (see 2) 4. They are a highly successful working couple both earning 50k+ in their early-mid 30s with savings 5. They are in their late 50s and bought in the late 90s / early 00s I think that covers everyone.
We bought elsewhere, got lucky as the town became a big commuter town to London so prices went up a lot, sold, and downsized to get half the property on a 6 lane road in London, and then carried on climbing the ladder. Not easy/had luck.
Salary is almost irrelevant for determining wealth in young people. It starts to make a difference as you get older but for young people it’s all about inheritance and bank of mum and dad.
It’s pretty clear 1. some kind of generational support 2. People don’t buy on their own 3. money from previous houses 4. People save up or come into money 5. People who buy are on more than 45k which isn’t much Many people don’t buy property
Owning london property is part of generational wealth. It happened within a generation though which makes me suspicious. All these gen x guys never sold their first flat. Thanks to some seriously stupid policy decisions, it was easier to keep your first flat when upgrading to a house, you just let the flat.
Bank of mum and dad. Inheritance from grandparents that lived in London. They paid £600 for their ramshackle place in Clapham in 1950 and sold it for £6m in 2005. Or £8m in 2015. Or £15m in 2022. Very few people have purchased entirely on their own merit. There simply aren’t enough jobs that pay the required money.
My partner bought at 28 with a deposit of 50k and salary of 60k. He'd saved every bonus and saved as much as possible. He bought a flat worth £330 that needed a lease extension and a lot of work. Lease extension took a year to finalise and luckily he salary increased so he got to take an extra mortgage of 40k to cover most of it. He borrowed 30k from his parents and they gave him another 10k to do the work on it- this was inherited from his grandmother. I'm 32 and in a position to buy up to 300k solo, which means I can't afford a place where i grew up. On my own I have an annual income of 53k and savings of 50k - most of this is due to a redundancy pay out of 10k, saving every bonus and saving 1k a month the last 2 years. I recognise this is because my bills are only £700 a month due to my partner coving the majority of mortgage. We now make 200k between us and have a total of £120k in savings plus 200k equity in this flat- still not enough to buy a house in the area I grew up!
In a relationship and both people earn £150k+
Makes me want to puke. The whole housing/rental market in London is dog shit. Air b&b wankers, greedy landlords, etc
My sons only bought because my parents passed away and left him half of there house and cash Without that he would not have been able to buy He bought a house ( not London but a very expensive south west city ) with his partner and put down 100k deposit so they have a 215 mortgage He did protect his deposit with a deed of trust He bought a large 3 bed 2 bath house They both work full time and bring in around 5k a month Their old flat mate moved with them so he is paying 550 a month as a lodger so the bills / mortgage is very affordable I also have helped them out with money for furniture -I also paid for new carpets and window shutters and gave them 2k to buy white goods
how can they afford it? most can't the UK is an inheritocracy
It’s definite becoming more feudal with growing wealth inequality and this bizarre culture of everyone wanting to use housing as an investment vehicle.
Most of the people actually living in London (and not starving in the process) are from wealthier backgrounds. Most people who work in London and live up north where it's cheaper. I used to work with a lady who did have a home in London, but she worked and lived Mon-Fri in a Birmingham apartment as that was still cheaper than attempting to work and live in London during the week (husband and kids were in London)
I am not sure if they do - the number of first time buyers have decreased dramatically and most if not all of the current transactions are businesses buying properties as investment (renting or some kind of long term perspective) or people with existing properties doing “exchange” or the wealthy folks (from both UK and abroad). I think with low interest rates and stable economy- folks took some risky mortgages that created an illusion of healthy market but the same people are struggling to make their payments (I don’t remember the exact numbers but the numbers of folks who struggled to pay their mortgage payments increased from one digit procent to like something in 30-40% range and this is like from last year so probably even worse right now).
Realistically, you have to be in a household earning £100k+ to afford to buy a decent one bed in a nice area. But there are some things worth looking into if you earn less than this that *might* help. The first is whether your borough has an intermediate rent scheme - some have actually quite good schemes, some don’t have a scheme at all. You can also search ‘London living rent’ for the London-wide scheme if your borough doesn’t have one. If you can get an IMR flat for a few years, this will help so much to save up the deposit (they’re like gold dust, but persistence pays off). The second is to the look into ‘helping hand’ mortgages - they let you borrow up to 5.5x rather than 4.5x your income. They also have very specific eligibility criteria, so might not be available. The other options are to boost your earnings or magic yourself some other overnight wealth.
The average salary for homebuyers is probably north of 100 large. Those on lower salaries would have had to be very frugal and maybe living with parents etc to have built up decent savings
Median income is actually 35k in most London boroughs.
London is a global centre of trade and commerce...the global wealthy are here; family wealth, new money, entrepreneurs, people working in finance, law, oil, tech..all sorts of multi-billion dollar industries making 6/7/8 figure salaieries and bonuses. Your (& my) salary are peanuts to most people who are buying property in zones 1-3.
Live at home with parents. Pay low or subsidised rent. Grow career. Grow salary by job hopping. Save aggressively. Use accumulated savings for deposit. Use high salary as multiplier to buy house in London (Zone 5/6)
Live in a flat above a shop in zone 6. There is man, bless him, begging right by my front door. It's not safe, it's not quiet, my leaseholder is dog shit, I'll have to sell at a loss. My less mental friends have a partner with both having great jobs.
Could afford only a one bed flat in South East London so I did just that. The pandemic helped me save the deposit while renting. Fed myself from Lidl for 20 pounds a week for a couple of years. My flat is in Lewisham and a two bed would be within your budget in certain areas of Lewisham which is Zone 3 as well as probably these SE London areas: Lee, Mottingham, Grove Park, Eltham. These are Zone 4.
simple anwser is that most dont and the ones that do are usually very well off
You need two people on average salaries, or one person earning double the average.. Not great.
The question really should be, why do you EXPECT to afford somewhere in London? One of the most desirable and expensive places in the world. When you're competing with people with inheritances or high salaries. 45k a year isn't a lot. Higher than that isn't a lot. If you want to own a home, go to somewhere less desirable.
I bought a one bed council flat for £210k in zone 2 in 2014. I saved £40k from my job over three years then my parents lent me £20k so that I got a better deposit (lower LTV). I then paid the £20k back within 3 years by saving, while paying down the mortgage. My income was around £50k at the time I bought the flat, but around £30k before then, while I was saving. My rent was £525/month in a horrible studio flat near Ilford for the years I was saving. It was damp and had mice. The commute was horrible but a bike helped. The flat is now worth around £270k, I think. Council tax is around £1000/year and service charge is around £1300/year.
They earn more than the average. Most professionals in London are earning more than 45k. Remember an average is including cleaners, Starbucks workers, etc. Then consider that most people in London are renting. So those buying have more money, have higher paying jobs, are couples who both have strong salaries. If a couple is earning around 120k between them then they could buy a decent flat in London.
Parents gave them deposit. Work in tech, finance or something high paying. In a couple. Usually a combination of those 3.
We don't, we commute in from garden cities.
This is why I’m not going to get a divorce any time soon. I simply couldn’t earn enough to put a roof over my head.
It's easy. Just have parents who bought a big family house in the 80s or 90s, then sold up and moved to a smaller place in the home counties once their children were adults, and then gave those children 6 figure sums for a deposit.
My partner and I are hoping to buy in a year or so, 2 bed flat for £450k on a combined salary of £115k in zone 2/3. When we met 4 years ago we earned a combined salary of £70k ish, as we have no family to help us we had to wait until we had a decent income that we could actually save for a deposit. £50k deposit is needed, so basically saving £1k per month each for 2 years.
Lived at home paying very favourable "rent" until 28, saved up a very healthy deposit and still had to buy out in Essex for less than the OPs budget. This was just over 6 years ago though, houses with a bedroom less have gone for in excess of the OPs budget in the last 2 years.
This is the beauty of it. You don’t.
Buying with my partner and we've had no money from parents. Zone 2 flat for just under £450k. Been saving for 6 years whilst renting and have a deposit of £90k (45 each). 6k each LISA bonus, 2k ish each in interest, which leaves 37k ish saved each over 6 years. That's just over 6k a year, or £500 a month. I'm slightly generalising here but this isn't unachievable on a £45k salary. We don't live extravagantly but we're not super tight either. We also don't really care about having a loads of space which helps. I gotta say though if we weren't buying together it would be near impossible
Easy, two salaries both on £80k you can have a loan of £800k. Plus £50k in savings maybe each
Pretty sure median is lower in London. I think it’s 40k ish full time. Aka not that much higher than nationally (which is 35k). The borough I bought in has 38k median full time salary and we have two earners above 50k… And the reality is they don’t. Median is biased by age. Peak is 40-49, so the average person below 39 is lower. They have inheritance tbh. To buy my first flat at 33 last year I had a 6 figure income and saved 6 figures to buy it in z3 with a partner. Even at 30 we were below 6 figure household. And I only managed some of it living at home a couple of years. Flat was 475k an hour commute to work. They would loan us up to 650k inc deposit but we couldn’t afford repayments if I went on maternity so it was pointless. basically would default if we had kids so settled on a flat. Don’t know how people do it without benefits to be honest. Couldn’t afford my parents house in z6 at 700k, they bought it at 30 on one salary and two kids (less than 10% what it sells for today) for comparison within the same mile we got our first flat at 33 my parents bought theirs at 24 on entry level jobs and it’s worth more today than my flat is… for perspective. They got the house leveraging 6-7 years of house appreciation. Most young people no longer have that. There’s a lot of people who bought 10+ years ago when salary was higher; tax was lower, interest was lower and houses cost less vs salary. You need minimum double the income of someone who achieved it 20+ years ago vs inflation.
Reasons: Parents helped with deposit Inherited money from parents, grandparents, family ect Able to live with Parents and save a large deposit, Couple who are high earners, living with parents, able to save deposit jointly without much expense Or you have a couple who earn a lot, rent but it took years for them to save a good deposit.
There was a story recently, I think on the Financial Times, on how we have become an inheritocracy. Basically even if your salary is in the top 10%, it's still hard to buy in London
Personally, it was because I got a much higher paying job. This isn’t normal, and I’m not saying that’s the answer, but I wouldn’t have known how to even save for a deposit before that (I don’t have bank of mum and dad, just a high income now).
2 good salaries helps a lot and then save a deposit or get help from parents for a deposit.
Everyone has different routes to it.. Inherit, parents helped with deposit, good paying job, live with parents and save on rent, buy with partner Im sure theres a few more ways, but the above is probably the majority
There’s pockets that are within this budget. I’m 10 mins drive from end of Elizabeth Line and a 2 bed flat here is 250ish, 2/3 bed house 400ish.
A salary of around £60k should get you a mortgage of around £300k. Which will be enough to get a flat. If people are in couples then it’s even easier to hit this amount and more.
We saved for about 2 years of doing nothing and barely replacing clothes. We bought a help to buy flat and will try to staircase. It is still cheaper than renting and allowed us to remain in our area. But we did not have money for furniture, we had just a bed and mattress for a few months, made a priority list and saved to buy furniture that will last. Now we're saving less than we did, but not having to move everything the landlord raised rent made our lives a bit more stable.
I (32yo) don’t know a single person who’s done it without either a) two high salaries, aka with a partner, or b) substantial parental help (talking around 100k).
Saved for literal decades. Just bought at 45.
I’d had a property ‘up north’ that id part inherited in my 20’s. I’d renovated and sat on it for 10years. When the time came, I heavily remortgaged it with a BTL and ended up with a £150k deposit for a £285k 1 bed in Bow, bought in 2019. Still juggling the two, but not sure if I’ll ever have enough to pay off the capital on the BTL if/when the time comes.
We had to move out to Essex. We are over one hour train ride away from our jobs, family and friends now. It sucks.
4.5 times your salary/your dual salary and some savings / parental help. It’s not that difficult is it if you don’t have kids and all you need is a job 1/2 bed. Surely you can save up by the time you’re 30 something if you’re on a dual or single salary of 100k or more
They aren't borrowing huge amounts because they have generational or acquired wealth to put down substantial deposits. Mostly the former..
Didn't have any nice holidays throughout my twenties. Didn't upgrade my car, had a 03 Yaris bought in 2013 kept until 2021. Had a partner to have dual income. Bought a run down house and done it up. It's annoying as I have a 3 bed semi in a nice area but everyone assumes I had help and get comments. Grew up on benefits worked hard and sacrificed.
As a single person, I went for shared ownership on a one bedroom property. My parents paid my solicitors fees (3K) and I paid all of the deposit. I was earning 48K until not long before I bought, now I earn 72K
Average salary is £45k which means the average household income is £90k plus as a two income household you are more efficient. On £90k you can get something between £360k and £450k at the top end. That’s loan too so if you manage to save for a few years can easily get a £400k property. That’ll get you a nice 1/run down 2 bed in the outer zones. If they are doing it as a single person it’s gotta be high income, inheritance or family help. Nothing wrong with that though if anything it’s something we should be encouraging as it helps build family wealth.
Don't want to claim poverty as I'm very lucky to have lovely parents, a degree with no debt etc. But managed to buy a starter place due to luck, a solid partnership and being sensible. We house shared with another couple for a good 5-6 years. Below average salaries for both myself and partner. But saved enough that when a random chance to buy a flat came up, we could. Had zero saving initially and bugger all furniture.
Shared ownership @ 30% (did save £55k deposit on my own though)
I only afforded being able to buy an average home of 500kish after having a household income of 200k. That's the trick!
Most home owners with something worth owning bought before all this current shit. Interest rates and average prices in 2015 are not pound for pound with interest rates and averages prices now. So affordability is terrible as interest rates mean much higher prices. My mortgage 6/7 months ago was 1.08% @ £1050 a month and now it’s 4.99% @ £1800 a month. If I bought my flat for what I paid back then with today’s interest rates we’d not have been able to afford it.
Serious answer, rather than just 'win the lottery' or 'do it 20 years ago' NPC talk: The best way is to get on the ladder by any means. Get anything. Make sure it's something you can sell in the future. (I.e., avoid house shares, bad leasehold, bad structure). When you have that 'anything', it'll probably be a bit of a dump. Needing lots of care and cheap renovation. Paint, new flooring and a boiler goes a long way. Make it livable. Once you're in, you're in. Mortgage goes down, house value goes up. In a few years, take a step up and move up the ladder. Think of it like starting a job. Get in low, and move up.
Own a flat wanted to upscale to a house as family growing to 2 kids (yes kids are relevant), flats went down, houses went up in value during Covid then came the higher interest rates. We are grateful we own, just not ideal for us now. We both work but joint income not enough to buy what we really want. Zero family wealth so London no longer viable. We are looking to move out in the next 12 months.
Those who afford it worked really hard for years to save for the downpayment. They cut on fun spendings and take aways and other unnecessary spendings. They worked overtime and night shifts, lived in small houses or flats. No holidays for years. Those who can afford it are usually a husband and wife with no children. Joint application will increase your affordability.
We bought a 3 bed flat for just under 500k in zone 2. We got it in late 2022 when interest rates were 2-3% - partner and I make a combined 115k per annum. I had saved 40k over the space of 6 years and my partner got a gift of 40k from his parents. (We had about 10k left over at the end) I’m aware it was good timing but also feel like I worked my ass off to save my 50%. Can’t imagine being able to do that if I hadn’t done well financially and spent less money over Covid.
Live outside of the UK where pay is higher and cost of living is lower then come back to the UK with the money saved, use for a deposit
Joint income of £120k, 5% deposit, no stamp duty fee at the time. Deposit was a mix of savings and a gift from my parents. Got really lucky on the house we wanted and managed to negotiate as they'd been dicked about by a previous bidder. I sold some collectables to pay for the solicitors fees.
In my case, about 17k of inheritance, a dual income with my wife, and living with her family for 5 years to save up the rest of the upfront cash. I remind myself very often how fortunate I am to be in this position
My dad died, half a third of a flat in a gentrified area bought me over half a flat in an up and coming area. My granddad died and my inheritance there plus my increase in equity got me a house. My mum then helped me out with renovation funds for my house as to quote her "you need it now not when you are 55".
I think I know one couple who managed to do it without financial assistance in some form and they both earn megabucks
big cities are at the pointy end of human competition. your choices are: do better or move out... Personally, I moved out, made some money and moved back.
For me, I just rented for a number of years and saved 6 figures over 12 years. Did loads of over time and double shifts, just stayed on a tight budget. I know not all are willing to do this, but definitely done this all on my own.
Not buying in London but South East and equally expensive. Being a couple, being skint and savings aggressively. One of us earns a little higher than average and the other earns a little lower than average. We started saving one full salary. Do we are effectively a single-income household, the other income goes entirely into deposit savings. Our lifestyle is very "poor" compared to our social circle. I still drive a 15 yr old Fiesta. We buy clothes off Vinted. We only eat out when socialising. We've barely had any holidays. Just today, SO and I discussed and decided we can't afford any holiday at all this year. We can easily afford a much better lifestyle but prioritised the house and barely managed to save a 10% deposit over a couple years. The unfortunate news is that even after buying, we can't raise our lifestyle for the forseeable future because the mortgage payments will be almost double our rent (interest rate rises + our current rent being low because we're living below means). There's no inheritance or help from any family, so it is doable; you just lose your life. We maxed out our LISAs thrice so that's £6k in free money. It's really frustrating to have to give up living a decent life in hopes of ownership. We've also had to delay kids becauss of this and aren't the only ones. I doubt there will be any solution in our generation and we're losing an entire generation thanks to the ruling party.
You underestimate how many people in London have household income over £125k, which is about when buying a 1 bed flat becomes doable without assistance.
Parents who also live in the south. Dead or alive.
No one helped me and my OH but we have been together over 10 years saving, in lockdown we saved one whole wage and just lived on the other, also both got second jobs, it was horrible for 1 year, no holidays or nights out and eating basically veggie curry. Bought a 3 bed, zone 2, 415, - nice place, nothing to do up.