To think you shouldn't expect to buy a home on a single salary?

[Fivebedexecutivehome]

Genuinely interested in people's thoughts.

There's no doubt there's a shortage of appropriate housing in the UK, and that prices make home ownership for many people on average salaries.

But I find a lot of reporting about the topic weird- lots of interviews with people who seem to want to buy a property by themselves.

most recent one on BBC but not unique:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7209lk8x2wo

My husband and I managed to get on the housing ladder a few years ago, early/mid thirties, both full time with a combined income of about 75k at the time, had been saving for about a decade towards deposit, plus a couple of grand from each of our parents to get it over the line. Got in towards the bottom end of the market of the (south eastern) town we live in.

I recognise both of us are quite privileged in lots of ways - having a bit of family support and salaries in the 30ks and 40ks. But there's no way either of us would have been able to ever buy a property by ourselves. But there's 68 million people in this country, surely the expectation can't be that everyone wants to buy a property themselves? And surely that's never been the expectation previously?

I only have one friend who DIDN'T buy on her own, but she does have a 5 bedroom house (Muswell Hill) I bought my flat just before Covid, when I was 22. Several friends have bought in the last 4 or 5 years, all on their own, all in their mid to late 20s. All of us are in London.

What rubbish.

I earn £60K and have a house in the South East (Sevenoaks). Bought it before I met my DP (2021). IF I had chosen to buy in Wadhurst or Wells or Tonbridge, I could have gotten a detached property.

A PP did it on 26K in Essex.

It is entirely possible.

I've noticed this attitude on threads as well, especially the divorce and separation ones. Along the lines of 'well, you can't be divorced and expect to have a good quality of life - adjust your expectations'.

If it was easier to buy a house on one income then not only would single people be able to buy, but it would also make childcare and maternity decisions easier for parents.

This is what annoys me when people, (Especially those on here) judge me for living at home. All the people I know around my age have only been able to do it with a partner. Without them they wouldn't be able to afford to buy alone.
I feel like I won't even be able to afford a 1 bed flat in my area anytime soon. I have a deposit of 60K but don't earn enough income to pay the many bills which all comes with home ownership. I have chronic illnesses too.

I do know a couple who have done it on a joint salary of around 32K though which I don't really understand although I do know they had a 30K deposit and the property was something like 180K but in this area (Near London) that is considered very cheap for a 1 bed flat.

In 2024, it's really depressing that things are this way. Owning your own place shouldn't be a privilege or something only the lucky few get.

I bought a small three bed on a single salary when I left my husband with two kids in tow. Would you advocate staying in an unhappy marriage rather than buying alone?

Absolutely a single salaried person should be able to afford appropriate housing and to buy rather than pay extortionate rents. Suggesting that being in a couple is the only way someone should afford to buy a home is detrimental to women who typically earn less well.

I doubt your average singleton is in the market for a four bed detached but absolutely they ought to be able to get a flat or a two up two down on a single wage.

I bought my first flat in 1996 on my own - it was £63k in the South East.

Some of my colleagues around the time bought 2 bed houses - 2 bed Victorian terrace types quite common in the area - a year or two before, a year or two after - for between £55k and £80k depending.

All of us in financial services, all on salaries of £30k ish.

It was very common to buy on your own then.

Grandparents in london yes not parents. They bought a semi on a sweatshop worker's wage.

The 1 bed flat that DH's parents bought was smaller than our 2 bed flat (both in london). DH's dad also lived with his parents like we did in his 20s and for twice as long as we did.

We know a couple who bought the same kind of flat as we did in the 80s and they were an accountant /solicitor.

What has become harder is upsizing to 3 bed terraced house in the same area of london, we will never afford that so are looking at 3 bed flats.

I expected to buy a home based on my salary - not whether I have a partner or not.

So I took a degree that provided a decent income, not one I loved.

As a new graduate, I saved like mad (no nights out, no holidays, no takeaways, no car, for years).

I lived in the cheapest bedsit I could find, with a shared bathroom.

I worked for a bank that offered me a discounted mortgage, despite hating every second, and putting my real career on hold for two years.

I bought a cheap (filthy) flat that needed a new kitchen, a new bathroom, heating, plumbing etc and did it up very gradually, because it was all I could afford.

When I moved in, I had an old couch that someone gave me, my clothes, a duvet and crockery/cutlery. No fridge, no washing machine. No bed. No TV.

After a few years I had a little equity and some furniture, and I traded up as people do.

I didn't have a child until my forties.

The lady in that article earns £50k. I suggest she cuts back on rent and bills if she's spending 2/3 of income. Perhaps she could lower her standards if she wants to save a deposit. There is always a way, even if single.

Neither of you has a great salary tbh, I don’t care whose is higher.
And at the moment those single people will be renting. They’re not going to magically couple up just because it’s unaffordable to buy. it won’t harm the environment if they buy their own place.
Also you might find yourself single in a decade and regret your words then.

I saw that article and the problem wasn't her salary, it was no deposit. I think part of the problem is that people don't stay living at home or get a room in a shared house to save up. Obviously this lady is just one example and we don't know her circumstances, but I had to save for my deposit and my dc have too

The service charges means I don't need to worry about the roof as there is a sink fund and can enjoy large garden with beautiful flowers even though I don't like gardening. Don't drive but driveway was repaved so no potholes that will damage a car if I had one. Also dh can cycle to work so that easily pays for our service charge.

I guess our mortgage means that we don't need to move when we need to and our mortgage even at 1252 is quite a good price for a 2 bed flat in a nice part of zone 3 london and my mortgage inflation was lower than average rent inflation

Also when I become a pensioner I can sell up and move to a house in a cheaper area.

Surlry it's about salary as opposed to single v couple. I think anyone who works should be rewarded with being able to build capital and buy a home if they wish.

A lot of single homeowners on here seem to be assuming I think they're doing something morally wrong by owning a home - I'm clearly not. Lots of those people also seem to be wishing my marriage to fail - cheers babes.

I would like someone, though, to give an example of a single country on Earth where the economy allows every working adult on an average salary to afford to buy their own home.

And if there is no such country. isn't it weird that that situation is what people are assuming should be possible when they talk about the current housing situation in the UK?

Single salary is meaningless. It can be 10K or 300K.
Do you mean minimum wage?

I have bought flats & houses as a single working female person

However, I hear that this would have been impossible in the past due to the patriarchal society

@GettingAroundTown yes I do mean on any wage or salary. Everyone has the right to a stable home and it's a shame that the destruction of the social housing system in the UK has led to a situation whereby more people need to buy. And I say need to buy because mortgage is often cheaper than rent and landlord are often unscrupulous

God MN cracks me up Single people shouldnt buy a house but yet shouldnt get social housing either. Im married but i was told on a thread on here i shouldnt be in SH unless i had kids. Like someone with kids could live in my one bedroom sweatbox .....................despite me being expected to.

There are plenty of countries where people on an average salary could buy if they wanted to, yes. Many countries have an over 80% home ownership rate. It used to be that way here too before house prices went a bit crazy. And as many people have pointed out, people would buy on one salary and support a whole family on that. Why shouldn't people be pissed off about that not being an option now? If you and your DH hadn't been able to buy would you have just shrugged and said oh well (or would it have been different because you're a couple?)? Also, the point is that many of the people unable to buy pay far more in rent than their mortgage payment would be. So they clearly can afford a mortgage but the lending criteria often mean they still don't qualify.

Well, that's your opinion. But if you look at threads on here, so many people in the UK won't even consider a house without a garden, let alone a flat. A garden is erm 'essential' apparently.

Countries with a very high rate of home ownership and a similar land profile to the UK like Singapore have a lot of densely packed flats.
Other places like China which while it has a seemingly high rate of ownership, 'ownership' = 'leases' with the government owning the land and being able to change their minds.

Places like Sweden have a 15% higher rate than the UK but have far less migration.

Also, speaking of migration, who is this 'everyone' who should be homeowners? UK citizens? Permanent residents? Students, long-term immigrants, people with X number of years working history?

You only have to see the way SH tenants are spoken about on here and in society to see why people want to buy. I could link a thread about social housing tenants and a thread about prisoners which shows the prisoners are more well thought of

I’m a single parent and was left to buy a house on my own. It has been tough and finances remain tight. My mortgage deal ends in October and I’m dreading the impact of increased repayments.

it is very normal for people to live alone in scandinavian countries. sweden home ownership stats are similar to ours. 42.5% of Swedish households are single person households. I imagine many of them own, given the home ownership stats.

And not just the old, cos many young people move out too.

But they have rent controls and long term rent contracts which facilitates single people moving out early and saving money. in the uk we prioritize home ownership and rental is seen as something that is done by students, migrants, people on short term contracts and young people who do it for a short time before buying (though this is no longer true). So housing policy is tilted towards owning a home to the detriment of renters and mathematically this means that couples find it easier to get a home cos 2 incomes are better than 1.

Buying a home is usually on credit and those on higher incomes (or two lowish incomes) experience a multiplier effect which greatly affects prices.

A single person should absolutely be able to afford to purchase adequate housing OR be able to access social housing. One average full time income ought to afford something like a 2 bed terrace or flat. Currently an average house is like £100k over what an average earner can afford.
But that article is a really poor example, there's really no reason he hasn't bought, unless he has children or lots of debt.

I've always bought and owned my own home from age 21 as a single mother. I didn't get anything from his father or relatives.
I've never rented.
It depends how much you have in savings and how much you earn and what area you live in.
I couldn't have bought anything in London..I've always lived in cheaper rural areas.