Young Scots need £68k to climb property ladder

SCOTTISH second-steppers – those looking to upgrade to their second property – need to find £68,600 to fund the move, more than double the average first-time buyer deposit, a study has revealed.

UK-wide, the price of a typical first property was 223,000  compared to 154,300 in Scotland. Picture: Jane Barlow

UK-wide, the figure is lower, with those surveyed saying they were looking to buy a property worth £58,400 more than their current home.

The fourth annual Second Steppers Report from Lloyds Bank, which interviewed 500 home-buyers across the UK, found the gap has increased and currently stands at around £15,000 more than in 2013 and £18,000 more than in 2012.

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UK-wide, the price of a typical first property was £223,000 – compared to £154,300 in Scotland. Experts said the higher starting price could mean people elsewhere in Britain were able to extend themselves less when moving to their second home. In London, the average price people said they had spent on their first home was £411,000.

David Marshall, spokesman for the Solicitors’ Property Centres (SPC) Scotland, said house price inflation made it harder to move up the property ladder.

The Lloyds survey found that 68 per cent of Scots predict there will be house price rises in the next year.

“This re-emphasises that rapid house price inflation is not necessarily a good thing,” said Mr Marshall. “For quite a long time, people thought when prices are going up that is good, but if the price of your current property rises, so does that of the one you are hoping to buy.

“We are relatively fortunate in Scotland in that we are not seeing the kind of growth that other areas of the UK are experiencing, such as London where house price inflation has been at around 20 per cent.

“However, the number of households in Scotland is set to increase faster than the number of new properties being built and that needs to be addressed, not just so people can get on the property market, but can move up when they need to.”

The survey found that 34 per cent of second-steppers have wanted to move up the property ladder but could not do so. Across the UK this average is 54 per cent, showing that people in Scotland have more confidence in being able to move.

The report warned the market could become blocked by second-steppers unable to move up the property ladder.

“Second-steppers are the link between first-time buyers and the rest of the housing ladder,” it said. “They are living in the homes that the first-time buyers need to buy to keep the market moving. Without movement from second-steppers, movement on the ladder comes to a standstill on the second rung.”