Huddersfield Housing Market:- Is Huddersfield’s Housing Market Broken for First-Time Buyers?

 

Huddersfield Housing Market Is Huddersfield’s Housing Market Broken for First-Time Buyers? As summer 2025 approaches, many first-time buyers in Huddersfield are asking a tough question: Is getting on the property ladder even possible anymore? With average deposits now hitting a jaw-dropping £61,000, it’s no wonder so many feel locked out. Add in soaring rents and rising living costs, and you've got a storm that’s wiping out savings faster than buyers can build them. The usual advice—save more, spend less, be patient—feels tone-deaf when house prices keep climbing faster than wages. The go-to affordability metric, the house price-to-earnings ratio (HPER), certainly paints a stark picture. In 1983, homes in Yorkshire and the Humber cost just 2.66 times the average salary. Today, that figure is 3.75—meaning homes are nearly four times more expensive relative to income than they were 40 years ago. But before we accept that things are hopeless, it’s worth digging a little deeper. Are Things Really That Bad? Let’s look at some actual numbers. The average price for a first-time buyer home in Huddersfield today is £148,700. Thanks to 95% mortgage deals, many buyers only need a 5% deposit—around £7,435. On a typical 29-year mortgage at 4.29%, that translates to monthly repayments of £710.14. That’s not insignificant—but it’s also not the full story. The HPER gives a broad view of how house prices compare to incomes—but it doesn't tell you how much of a buyer’s monthly income is actually spent on their mortgage. That’s where a more useful figure comes in: mortgage payments as a percentage of take-home pay. This measure shows how much of someone’s salary is eaten up by mortgage payments each month. And when you track that over time, things start to get interesting. The Bigger Picture: History Lessons in Housing Back in the 1980s, after a recession, house prices were low, and interest rates were volatile. Then came the infamous 1988 housing boom, driven by panic-buying ahead of tax relief cuts (MIRAS). Demand spiked, prices soared, and both HPER and mortgage burdens shot up. By the early 90s, it all crashed. Interest rates peaked at 15%, the economy tanked, and mortgage repayments became crushing. First-time buyers faced record-high costs relative to income—and mass repossessions followed. Fast forward to the early 2000s, and another boom hit. House prices jumped by 10–18% per year, but interest rates stayed fairly stable. Even so, monthly mortgage costs rose as a share of income, peaking in 2007—right before the 2008 financial crash. Then came a curveball: interest rates dropped sharply post-2009, making mortgages cheaper—even as house prices crept back up. For nearly a decade, the HPER kept climbing, but actual monthly mortgage costs as a percentage of income fell. In simple terms: houses looked more expensive on paper, but they were often cheaper to own month-to-month. The Covid Boom—and What Came After Covid changed everything again. As people reconsidered where and how they wanted to live, demand spiked and house prices surged in 2020 and 2021. Then came rising inflation, and with it, rising interest rates. By 2023, the affordability metric peaked—but crucially, not to levels seen in previous crises. The worst point in 2023 saw first-time buyers spending 27.6% of their take-home pay on mortgage payments. That’s significant—but still better than the 37.9% in 2007 or the eye-watering 47.8% in 1989. What’s Happening Now in 2025? Here’s the good news: things are improving. Although house prices remain high (keeping the HPER elevated), mortgage payments as a share of income are falling. Why? Two reasons: Interest rates have stabilised—and are beginning to fall. Real wages (after inflation) are growing. This means monthly mortgage costs are becoming more manageable again. In fact, the average first-time buyer in Yorkshire and the Humber now spends just 25.6% of their income on mortgage repayments—a big improvement compared to past decades. The Takeaway for First-Time Buyers So, is Huddersfield’s housing market broken? Not exactly. Yes, saving for a deposit is still tough. And yes, house prices look intimidating when you compare them to earnings. But if you’re judging affordability by how much you’ll actually pay each month, there’s a brighter story emerging. The key takeaway? Ignore the scary headlines about house prices alone. Focus on how much of your income your mortgage will actually take up. That’s what lenders look at, and it’s what really defines affordability. For first-time buyers—and their parents trying to help—2025 could be a turning point. Mortgage pressures are easing. Wages are improving. And if the current trends hold, this year might just offer the best shot in years to get that long-awaited key in hand.