NI consumers and first-time buyers hardest hit in all of UK

Across the UK, 70% of prospective first-time buyers are now delaying purchases by nearly two years due to the rapid increase in living costs.

That is according to research carried out on behalf of Nationwide Building Society by the market research company CensusWide.

The Nationwide report, titled ‘Home Truths’, found that Northern Ireland had the highest rate in the UK of people finding it more difficult to save up for a deposit – 98%.

Across the UK, on average, people hoping to get into the property market for the first time say they will delay buying a home for nearly two years, with 19% saying they are likely to hold out for more than three years.

The poll of more than 2,000 people aspiring to own their first home within the next five years reveals a deposit is the biggest hurdle, with more than a quarter – 28% – claiming it is the number one obstacle to home ownership.

Nationwide’s research shows that across the UK 88% have had their ability to save for a deposit impacted by the rising cost of living.

This rises to 93%for Scotland, and 98% for Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland also stands out against the rest of the UK in terms of the average sum prospective first-time buyers have managed to save up.

The average deposit for a first home across the UK is £14,700.

The figure in Northern Ireland is the lowest of any region at £7,065 – less than half the UK average and around a third of the average for Greater London of £21,071.

Paul Archer, senior mortgages manager at Nationwide Building Society, said: “Building a deposit remains the single biggest barrier to homeownership today, with many people starting out facing a long uphill battle to save. The rising cost of living has made this even harder.

“With high house prices and the rising cost of living, we need to tackle the first-time buyer challenge on multiple fronts.”

Nationwide said the survey was carried out between April 8 and 13.

Meanwhile, separate research carried out on behalf of the supermarket giant Asda shows that the ‘discretionary’ spending power available to consumers in Northern Ireland has shrunk to just £127 per week for an average family.

This is also well below the UK average of £235 for the first quarter of 2022, and represents a decline of 13.3%, or around £20 per week for the average family, on the same time last year. The decline in disposable income in Northern Ireland is also more dramatic than the rest of the UK, where discretionary income dropped by around 6%.

The discretionary spending figures compiled by Asda reflect the money available after essential costs such as food, heat, housing, taxes and other bills have been paid.

The research was carried out for Asda by the economics consultancy Cebr.

Cebr senior economist Sam Miley said: “Though spending power is down almost across the board, those in Northern Ireland have been particularly impacted, with inflation spiralling and wage growth overall falling behind.”

The economist also sounded a warning for the future, saying: “These trends are set to continue over the coming months, meaning households could find themselves in an even more precarious position.”