18 APRIL IS UK MORTGAGE FREEDOM DAY

18 April IS UK Mortgage freeDOM DAy

             Rising house prices and static wages pushes Mortgage Freedom Day back 8 days

 Halifax research shows that today, 18 April, is this year’s UK Mortgage Freedom Day – the day when new borrowers¹ will have finally earned enough to pay off the annual cost of their mortgage².

Based on the average annual mortgage repayment cost of £7,567 and the average net annual income of £25,588⁴, Halifax has calculated that those with a mortgage will have today earned enough on average to cover their mortgage payments for the rest of 2015.

Mortgage Freedom Day this year occurs eight days later than in 2014 (10 April), and is the result of net annual income decreasing by £15 since last year while the average annual mortgage repayment increasing by £613 over the same period.

Craig McKinlay, Mortgage Director, Halifax, commented: "While monthly mortgage and rental costs account for the majority of many people’s household budgets, Mortgage Freedom Day provides a different perspective on how much we spend on these costs over the course of a year.

“Our research shows that today, if people had put everything they’d earned since the start of the year towards their mortgage, the average homeowner would be mortgage free for the remainder of the year.”

Mortgage Freedom Day comes early in Scotland

New borrowers in Renfrewshire recorded the earliest Mortgage Freedom Day in 2015, on 28 February. Eight of the ten earliest Mortgage Freedom Days this year take place in Scotland, such as in North Larnarkshire (28^th February) and West Dunbartonshire (1^st March). The remaining two are in Northern Ireland; including Larne (2^nd March) and Ballymoney (5^th March).

The first local authority in England to record Mortgage Freedom Day is in Swindon in Wiltshire (8 April).

Mortgage Freedom Day around the country…

Nationally, there is over a six week difference between the earliest Mortgage Freedom Day in Scotland (28^th February) and England (18^th April) and Wales (13^th April).

ENDS

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