Cheaper to buy a home

Buying a property is nearly £100 a month cheaper than renting, as a result of record low interest rates and house price falls.

Homeowners spend an average of £608 a month on mortgage payments and maintenance for a three-bedroom property, but rent on a similar house would cost £706 a month, according to high street bank Halifax. The group said buying a home was now 14 per cent cheaper than renting one, a considerable turnaround from 2008, when buying cost 43 per cent more than renting.

It attributed the improvement to the steep fall in average mortgage rates as a result of the low Bank of England base rate, as well as house price falls, which have also reduced mortgage costs.