For those people planning to purchase a home over the next six months, 39.86% are living alone.
This trend is set to continue as more people decide to live alone. Indeed, some 10% of 25 – 44 year olds now live alone compared with just 2% in 1973 and by 2021, 35% of al households in the UK are expected to be solo livers.
Most recent government statistics show the number of marriages in the UK was 283,730 in 2005 – down 10 per cent on the previous year. The number of marriages dropped in all parts of the UK for the first time in three years and the number of marriages in England and Wales is now at its lowest since 1896.
Francis Ghiloni, mform.co.uk marketing and business development director, said: “If more of us decide to live alone, that means more demand for property which will place greater pressure on prices making it more expensive to own a home. This will be made all the worse by the fact that there is a growing shortage of homes in the UK.
“The falling number of marriages is having an effect on the rising number of people buying homes on their own. Similarly divorce – which runs at around 150,000 a year – is also contributing.
“It is even more important for people buying on their own to source the best-value mortgage they can. If you are relying on one income to pay your mortgage you cannot afford to take risks. We’d urge everyone to research their mortgage as thoroughly as possible.”
The average annual amount spent on mortgages by people with home loans increased from £4,586.40 in 2001/02 to £6,619.60 last year – a rise of 44.3%. Also, worryingly the percentage of total household expenditure that is attributed to mortgages has risen from 9% to 13.5% during this period.
