Wedding? Check. Honeymoon? Check. Mortgage? Errr…

You might find that the fairytale of homeownership sits in a far, far away land. Somewhere off the map, probably, considering that house prices have outgrown wages by 94%* in the last 15 years. Yikes!

Sadly, the future doesn’t look any brighter. 90% (1) of under 35-year-olds earning the UK average income won’t be able to buy their own home within the next 10 years. In 3 years, first time buyers in the UK will need to be earning £64,000 to afford a home. Just last year, you needed to be earning £52,000. (2) Climbing the property ladder can be impossible when you can’t even reach the first step.

It’s no surprise that 53% of under 35-year-olds (3) on modest incomes are currently renting – in 1998, it was just 22%. And with the average marital age in the UK being 31, things don’t look too promising for newlyweds. (4) If this sounds all too familiar, you’ve come to the right place.

For newlyweds hoping to fulfill the first-time buyer dream, the odds might be stacked against you. Just as everything comes together in a moment of bliss, the reality of the housing crisis can leave you feeling lost. But it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. There are practical steps you and your partner can take towards building a pot of wealth to secure your dream home.

We decided to put together a little cheat sheet for newlyweds who are trying to save up for a housing deposit.

  1. Two is better than one

Luckily, there are two of you. Many hands make light work. In the case of stashing your spare change, two incomes won’t just half the number of years you’ll need to save for, it also halves amount each person needs to save. As we mentioned earlier, in 3 years, you’ll need to be earning £64,000 to afford a home, but if there are two of you, that plummets down to £32,000 per person. By sharing the weight between you it will be a lot easier to carry.

  1. Invest your savings and start doing it now

Saving is a great way to build up a stash of cash, but when you break open your piggy bank, you’ll have the exact amount you put in. Investing can be a great way to make your hard-earned money do a little bit of work for you. It gives your money the space to grow – something which your piggy bank can’t do. Starting now might be the most underrated trick in the book. It really does pay to start now. In fact, the earlier you start saving can be more rewarding than the amount you save – especially if you invest it. Why? The power of compound interest. It’s such a magical tool that Einstein called it the eighth wonder of the world. (5) By reinvesting your returns, you’re allowing the interest to work with more money. Naturally, the more it has to work with, the more it can give back to you. Compound interest can dramatically accelerate the growth of your investment, which means you could reach your housing deposit goal in a shorter space of time.

  1. Use property as a stepping stone

Property investment can help you along the way. Having your savings track the UK housing market might be a fantastic way for you to get a home of your own. This might sound confusing, especially as we’re talking about the unaffordability of the housing market. But, buying a house isn’t the only way to start climbing the property ladder. There’s a new way into property investment which doesn’t require you to have a lump sum of cash. Property crowdfunding platforms, like Property Moose, allow you to invest in different hand-picked property investments from just £10. You can start earning rental income proportionate to your shareholding, earn any capital growth and hold full voting rights. Essentially, you get the chance to be a landlord for a much lower cost, and for a lot less hassle. You’ll never be asked to change a lightbulb or fix a leaky drain. With the mission to simplify property investment and lower the barriers to the housing market, property crowdfunding could offer you a helping hand in securing your dream home.

Hopefully, these 3 tricks can act as stepping stones for you and your partner, bringing you 3 steps closer to the far away land of homeownership.

Sources:

  1. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/13/under-35s-in-the-uk-face-becoming-permanent-renters-warns-thinktank
  2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/house-prices/no-end-in-sight-for-generation-rent-this-is-how-much-youll-need/
  3. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/young-poor-35-permanent-renters-a6872031.html
  4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_age_at_first_marriage
  5. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-warren-buffett-rule-can-work-wonders-on-your-portfolio-2016-04-26

*Between January 2002 and January 2017, UK house prices increased by 139.6%, whereas average nominal earnings increased by 45.98%.

Disclaimer and Legals

Property Moose does not provide any advice in relation to investments and you must rely on your own due diligence before investing. Please remember that property prices can go down as well as up and that all figures, rates and yields are projections only and should not be relied on. If in doubt, please seek the advice of a financial adviser. Your capital is at risk if you invest. This post has been approved as a financial promotion by Resolution Compliance Limited.

Property Moose is a trading name of Crowd Fin Limited which is an Appointed Representative of Resolution Compliance Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (no: 574048).