By clicking a retailer link you consent to third-party cookies that track your onward journey. If you make a purchase, Which? will receive an affiliate commission, which supports our mission to be the UK's consumer champion.
The amount first-time buyers need to save for a 5% house deposit ranges from less than £5,000 to more than £50,000, depending on their location.
A new Which? analysis of Land Registry data shows how prospective buyers in more expensive parts of Great Britain face an uphill struggle to save a big enough deposit.
Read on to learn about how much you'll need to put down to get on the property ladder in your area.
Find the right mortgage using the fee-free service provided by L&C Mortgages
Compare mortgagesIf you click on the link and complete a mortgage with L&C Mortgages, L&C is paid a commission by the lender and will share part of this fee with Which? Ltd helping fund our not-for-profit mission. We do not allow this relationship to affect our editorial independence. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
When buying your first home, you'll need a deposit of at least 5% of the property's value to get a mortgage.
But how much this is in real terms varies dramatically depending on the area you're hoping to buy a home in.
We analysed the latest Land Registry figures on the average price paid by first-time buyers in every local authority in Great Britain.
The cheapest areas for first-time buyers are all in the north of England or Scotland.
Burnley in Lancashire has the lowest average first-time buyer price, with less than £5,000 required for a 5% house deposit.
| Area | Average first-time buyer price | 5% deposit | 10% deposit |
| Burnley | £93,085 | £4,654 | £9,309 |
| Inverclyde | £100,722 | £5,036 | £10,072 |
| East Ayrshire | £102,835 | £5,142 | £10,284 |
| North Ayrshire | £106,559 | £5,328 | £10,656 |
| Hartlepool | £107,816 | £5,391 | £10,782 |
You might not be surprised to hear that buyers in London require the biggest deposits.
The most expensive area is the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea, with average prices of more than a million pounds.
This huge figure, and the £828,000 recorded in the City of Westminster, can likely be put down to a small sample size of first-time buyers.
However, prices across London are out of reach for most, with many boroughs having average first-time buyer prices of more than £500,000.
| Area | Average first-time buyer price | 5% deposit | 10% deposit |
| Kensington and Chelsea | £1.03m | £51,665 | £103,330 |
| City of Westminster | £828,256 | £41,363 | £82,726 |
| City of London | £690,188 | £34,509 | £69,019 |
| Islington | £635,442 | £31,772 | £63,544 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | £626,289 | £31,314 | £62,629 |
Outside of London, there are five local authority areas where first-time buyers need a deposit of at least £20,000 to buy a home.
The list is headed up by St Albans in Hertfordshire, a cathedral city that features in Rightmove's top 20 happiest places to live.
| Area | Average first-time buyer price | 5% deposit | 10% deposit |
| St Albans | £436,035 | £21,802 | £43,604 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | £430,975 | £21,549 | £43,098 |
| Cambridge | £419,406 | £20,970 | £41,941 |
| Three Rivers | £417,358 | £20,868 | £41,736 |
| Oxford | £407,080 | £20,354 | £40,708 |
The interactive map below shows how much money you might need to put down to buy your first home in your area.
When you hover your cursor over an area on the map, you'll see three figures. These are as follows:
The above figures give an indication of how much you might need for a deposit, but whether you'll be able to get a mortgage depends on other factors too, most notably your salary.
For example, let's take the average price of £436,000 in St Albans. If you put down a 5% deposit of £22,000, you'll need to get a mortgage for the remaining £414,000.
Most lenders will allow you to borrow up to four-and-a-half times your household income. This means you (and anyone you're buying with) would need to collectively earn at least £92,000 a year.
At a time of high mortgage rates, affordability requirements are locking some borrowers out of getting a home loan. This means that some prospective first-time buyers will need to save bigger deposits, increase their earnings, or buy in a cheaper area.
While a 5% deposit is the minimum you usually need to be eligible for a mortgage, it's preferable to put down more than this if you can afford to.
The downside to having a small deposit is that 95% mortgages have the highest rates, and there's also fewer of them available than deals at other loan-to-value levels.
On a two-year fixed-rate mortgage, the cheapest 95% deal currently available is priced at 5.66%.
If you can save a 10% deposit, however, you can get a 90% mortgage with a rate of 5.19%, which could potentially save you hundreds of pounds a year in interest.
90% mortgages are also more readily available than 95% deals, and you'll be at a lower risk of negative equity if property values fall.
Find the best deals, avoid scams and grow your money with our expert advice.
Sign up nowOur mortgage deposit calculator uses localised house price data from across the UK to help you work out how much deposit you need to buy a home in your desired area.
When you enter your savings plans, we'll also tell you how long it will take to build up that crucial deposit. House prices are based on Land Registry data from January 2024.
Find the right mortgage using the fee-free service provided by L&C Mortgages
Compare mortgagesIf you click on the link and complete a mortgage with L&C Mortgages, L&C is paid a commission by the lender and will share part of this fee with Which? Ltd helping fund our not-for-profit mission. We do not allow this relationship to affect our editorial independence. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Which? Limited is registered in England and Wales to 2 Marylebone Road, London NW1 4DF, company number 00677665 and is an Introducer Appointed Representative (FRN 610689) of the following:
1. Inspop.com Ltd for the introduction of non-investment motor, home, travel and pet insurance, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide advice and arrange non-investment motor, home, travel and pet insurance products (FRN310635). Inspop.com Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide advice and arrange non-investment motor, home, travel and pet insurance products (FRN310635) and is registered in England and Wales to Greyfriars House, Greyfriars Road, Cardiff, South Wales, CF10 3AL, company number 03857130. Confused.com is a trading name of Inspop.com Ltd.
2. LifeSearch Partners Limited (FRN656479), for the introduction of Pure Protection Contracts and Private Health Insurance, who are authorised and regulated by the FCA to provide advice and arrange Pure Protection Contracts and Private Health Insurance Contracts. LifeSearch Partners Ltd is registered in England and Wales to 3000a Parkway, Whiteley, Hampshire, PO15 7FX, company number 03412386.
3. HUB Financial Solutions, for the introduction of equity release advice, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) to provide advice and guidance on financial products for those who have retired or are approaching retirement (FCA Firm Reference Number: 455713). HUB Financial Solutions is registered in England and Wales to Enterprise House, Bancroft Road, Reigate, Surrey RH12 7RP, company number 05125701.
4. Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers Ltd (FRN 301), for the introduction of non-investment landlord insurances, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to provide advice and arrange insurance contracts. Alan Boswell insurance brokers Ltd is registered in England at Prospect House, Rouen Rd, Norwich NR1 1RE, company number 02591252.
Other financial services:
Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), Unit 26 (2.06), Newark Works, 2 Foundry Lane, Bath BA2 3GZ. London & Country are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
We do not make, nor do we seek to make, any recommendations or personalised advice on financial products or services that are regulated by the FCA, as we’re not regulated or authorised by the FCA to advise you in this way. In some cases, however, we have included links to regulated brands or providers with whom we have a commercial relationship and, if you choose to, you can buy a product from our commercial partners.
If you go ahead and buy a product using our link, we will receive a commission to help fund our not-for-profit mission and our campaigns work as a champion for the UK consumer. Please note that a link alone does not constitute an endorsement by Which?.
