Buyers looking to purchase a newbuild property in the UK will take almost 15 months to save for the 10 percent deposit required. New research shows that the average newbuild costs £295,950. Based on an average take-home monthly salary of £1,993, buyers would need 14.9 months to put away the minimum 10 percent deposit of £29,595.

Durham takes top spot

Stone Real Estate, which sells new homes, looked at the cost of buying a brand-new home in 50 UK cities. The results reveal that Durham is the place where buyers would need the shortest time to pull a deposit together. Home buyers in the north-east university town need a deposit of £14,938, and based on an average monthly salary of £1,803, they’d take just 8.3 months to save for their purchase.

Less than a year to save deposit

The next best cities are Dundee (8.9 months), Stirling (9.4), Stoke (9.8), Glasgow (9.9), Bradford (10.2), Derby (10.3) and Swansea (10.4). Sheffield, Liverpool, Lancaster, Lincoln, Nottingham, Salford and Wakefield are all spots where buyers could realistically save for their deposit in less than a year.

Premium on brand new

Michael Stone, chief executive officer at Stone Real Estate, said: “Newbuild properties will always carry a price premium, and for good reason, as home buyers are the first to call them home and enjoy the benefits that come with it, such as no onward chain, brand-new appliances with long warranties and the option to add their person touch. “However, the cost of getting on the newbuild ladder isn’t that much higher than the cost of existing property stock, and as this research shows, home buyers would pull together a deposit in some places in less than a year.”