The average deposit paid by a UK first-time buyer for a 3-bed home in 2023 is £34,500 for a £240,000 home.
That amounts to a 15% deposit for the property.
However, the amount you need to save varies according to where you live in the UK and of course, the level of deposit you wish to pay.
100% mortgages are now available, meaning you don’t have to pay any deposit at all to buy a house.
The 95% mortgage scheme is also running until the end or 2023, meaning you only need to save a 5% deposit for the home you want to buy.
What is the mortgage guarantee scheme?
According to UK Finance, most first-time buyers try to put down a larger deposit for their first home - amounting to 24% of the total property price.
That’s because a bigger deposit opens up better mortgage rates from lenders.
To put a 24% deposit on a £240,000 property, you would need to save £57,600.
Let’s take a look at how much first-time buyers are paying to step onto the property ladder across the UK.
We’ve used our data to calculate the average property prices for first-time buyers in each region, based on sold house prices.
UK Finance have provided the information on the average deposit paid by first-time buyers within each region.
And we’ve also shown how much a 15% deposit would be for each regional property value.
From the most expensive areas to the cheapest, these are the average deposits paid by first-time buyers in 2023.
What you need to know when you're a first-time buyer
Average first-time buyer deposits paid across the UK
| Region | Average first-time buyer property price | Average deposit | 15% deposit |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | £240,000 | £34,500 | £34,500 |
| London | £425,000 | £144,500 | £63,750 |
| South East | £300,000 | £72,000 | £45,000 |
| East England | £300,000 | £72,000 | £45,000 |
| South West | £220,000 | £52,800 | £33,000 |
| East Midlands | £190,000 | £45,600 | £28,500 |
| West Midlands | £190,000 | £45,600 | £28,500 |
| North West | £150,000 | £36,000 | £22,500 |
| Wales | £150,000 | £36,000 | £22,500 |
| Yorkshire & The Humber | £140,000 | £33,600 | £21,000 |
| Scotland | £135,000 | £32,400 | £20,250 |
| Northern Ireland | £130,000 | £31,200 | £19,500 |
| North East | £110,000 | £26,400 | £16,500 |
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12. London average first-time buyer deposit
At the most expensive end of the market is London, where the average first home costs £425,000.
And, according to UK Finance, the average first-time buyer will pay a 34% deposit to secure it - amounting to £144,500.
If you paid a 15% deposit for the same value property, that would equate to £63,750.
However, first-time buyers will be pleased to learn that the capital is the exception to the rule and most first homes are considerably cheaper across the rest of the UK.
Three-bedroom flat, Croydon, £400,000
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11. South East average first-time buyer deposit
Including the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex, the South East of England is the second most expensive area in the UK after London for first-time buyers to purchase a home.
The average first-time buyer here pays £300,000 to step onto the property ladder, using a 24% deposit of £72,000.
Using a 15% deposit, a first-time buyer would need to save £45,000.
Two-bed semi, Andover, £275,000
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10. East of England average first-time buyer deposit
Covering the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, the East of England is also up there as one of the most expensive areas for first-time buyers to step onto the property ladder.
As in the South East, the average first home here costs £300,000, according to our data.
And first time buyers pay an average 24% deposit for it, amounting to £72,000.
If you paid a 15% deposit for the same value property, it would mean saving £45,000.
Three-bed end-of-terrace, Dereham, £250,000
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9. South West average first-time buyer deposit
During the pandemic, the South West became one of the UK’s most popular destinations to buy a home, as working from home opened up the buying landscape for many.
Including the counties of Bristol, Cornwall, Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire, the south west is also home to the cities of Bath, Cheltenham, Exeter and Plymouth.
Here, the average first-time buyer home costs £220,000, with most buyers saving a 24% - or £52,800 - deposit towards it.
If they saved a 15% deposit, that would equate to £33,000.
Three-bed terrace house, Cornwall, £200,000
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8. East Midlands average first-time buyer deposit
Over in the East Midlands, first-time buyer prices drop below the £200,000 mark to £190,000.
Home to Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland, the cities of Derby, Leicester and Nottingham can be found here.
The average deposit paid for a £190,000 home here is 24%, amounting to £45,600.
If that became a 15% deposit, first-time buyers would need to save £28,500.
Three-bed terraced house, Chesterfield, £140,000
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7. West Midlands average first-time buyer deposit
Similarly in the West Midlands, home to Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Shakespeare’s Warwickshire and Worcestershire, buyers also pay an average of £190,000 for their first home.
Using the average 24% deposit paid, buyers would save up £45,600 to secure their first home.
But if they saved a 15% deposit, that would equate to £28,500.
Three-bed terraced house, Staffordshire, £190,000
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6. North West average first-time buyer deposit
In the North West, property begins to become a lot more affordable and the average first-time buyer here pays £150,000 for their first home.
The third most populated region of England, the North West encompasses the counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester and Lancashire, and the cities of Manchester and Liverpool.
The average deposit paid for a first-time buyer home here is £36,000, or 24% of the total property value.
A 15% deposit would be £22,500.
Two-bed terraced house, Lancashire, £95,000
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5. Wales average first-time buyer deposit
It’s a similar picture for first-time buyer homes in Wales, with the average property costing £150,000.
The average deposit paid here is also £36,000, with a 15% deposit equalling £22,500.
Two-bed terrace house, Porth, Wales, £110,000
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4. Yorkshire and The Humber average first-time buyer deposit
Home to the cities of Leeds, York, Bradford and Sheffield, not to mention the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, Yorkshire and The Humber includes the counties of East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire (excluding areas in Tees Valley of North East England), South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire.
Here the average first home costs £140,000, with buyers saving up a 24% deposit, or £33,600 to buy it.
A 15% deposit for a first-time buyer home here would be £21,000.
Two-bed terraced house, Hull, £120,000
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3. Scotland average first-time buyer deposit
In Scotland, the average first-time buyer property price is £135,000, although prices will vary according to regions.
In Edinburgh, the average home can cost up to £485,000 in the wealthier districts, while in Glasgow, the average home can cost £268,500 in the more expensive areas.
However in Aberdeen, properties cost £111,500 on average, while in Ayreshire they are £137,000.
To purchase a property at £135,000, most first-time buyers are paying a deposit of £32,400, or 24% of the property’s value.
If they were paying a 15% deposit, that would equate to £20,250.
Two-bed flat, Paisley, £135,000
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2. Northern Ireland average first-time buyer deposit
In Northern Ireland, the average first-time buyer property price is £130,000, while the average deposit paid is £31,200, or 24% of the property’s value.
To pay a 15% deposit, first-time buyers would need to save up £19,500.
Three bed terraced house, County Antrim, £125,000
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1. North East average first-time buyer deposit
And at number one in the affordability charts, the cheapest place to buy a first-time home is the North East, home to Tyne and Wear, County Durham and part of North Yorkshire, where the average property price is £110,000.
The average deposit paid for a first property here is £26,400, or 24% of the total property price.
But if you were to save £16,500, that would be enough to secure an 85% loan to value mortgage as it provides a 15% deposit.
Two-bed terraced house, County Durham, £80,000
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