Scottish homeowners pay 20% of disposable income towards mortgage

SCOTTISH homeowners pay 20% of their disposable income towards their mortgage each month, according to research by the Bank of Scotland.

Disposable income spent on mortgage payments in Scotland is 9% less than the rest of the UK (29%).

The 20% figure has “almost halved” from the amount in 2007, research showed.

It also revealed five out of the 10 most affordable Local Authority Districts (LAD) in the UK are in Scotland, with Inverclyde the most affordable location.

Despite the recent increase in the Bank of England base rate at the end of last year, the report found there has been little impact on mortgage rates so far.

Ricky Diggins, director at Bank of Scotland, said: “Despite the base rate towards the end of last year, it was the rise in house prices that had a slight impact on mortgage affordability for homeowners in Scotland.

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“However, even with the slight decrease in affordability over the last year, the average amount that homeowners spend on their mortgage payments as a proportion of disposable income is significantly less now when compared to 10 years ago, and Scotland is typically more affordable when compared to the rest of the UK.”

At the end of 2007, mortgage payments typically cost Scots 38% of their disposable income and now they pay 20.1% with an average monthly mortgage payment of £442. This is £227 less than the UK average of £669.

Affordability has improved significantly in all Scottish LADs since 2007.

Mortgage payments as a proportion of average earnings have fallen by at least 15% in 28 out of 31 areas.

In Inverclyde, mortgage payments as a proportion of disposable earnings, fell by 23% over 10 years (38.7% to 15.7%).

The least affordable location in Scotland was East Dunbartonshire where payments take up 24.7% of average monthly disposable income.