According to research from the Yorkshire Bank’s quarterly Housebuyers Report, only one in four people are letting current house prices put them off their quest for a dream home and a move up the property ladder to add an extra bedroom to start or grow their family.
The cost of stepping up from a two bedroom terraced home to a family-sized three bedroom semi-detached home in the UK varies considerably from region to region.
The average cost of stepping up across the country is around £34,000 but it can be as much as £80,000 in York or as little as £7,000 in Manchester.
Gary Lumby, Yorkshire Bank’s head of retail, said: “Our research shows people are not being put off by the high price of an extra bedroom, but we are seeing homebuyers become more prudent in their purchases to ensure they can afford their increased repayments.”
Family First
According to Yorkshire Bank’s Housebuyers Report, just 14 per cent of homeowners expressed concern that they might start to struggle financially if their mortgage repayments went up by around £40-£50 a month while just 3 per cent said they would let the extra expense of a child or the potential drop in income to one salary put them off plans to start a family or have another child.
Some 78 per cent of homeowners still expect rates to continue to rise - as they did last week in what was the fifth rate rise since last August - and only 3 per cent think house prices will come down over the next 12 months.
