A new study by high street bank Barclays has found that buying a property offers significantly more benefits long term than renting and is around £200,000 cheaper over a lifetime. The savings were calculated by the bank’s mortgage division with typical cost of owning a home tallied up to £429,000 over a 50 year period including mortgage and maintenance costs compared to a whopping £623,000 cost to rent the same property. The savings of £194,000 couple with several other factors to make a powerful argument for those considering stepping onto the buyer ladder for the first time according to fixed fee estate agency, I Am The Agent.

Rebecca Peach, I Am The Agent managing director said, “The housing market showed a 0.2% increase during May but this was mainly driven by house prices in London. While there is a surplus of demand over supply in the capital, supply outstrips demand in most other areas with some regions registering a supply increase of around 28% compared with demand rising at just 9%. Couple this deficit with improved mortgage availability including increased buy to let mortgage approvals and it’s a fantastic time to start looking for a property to buy. There are still lots of bargains to be had with beautiful houses in great locations including vendors wanting to sell a property privately just waiting to be snapped up.”

As a self service letting agency, I Am The Agent has also seen an increase in rental yields over the course of the last twelve months. Landlords wishing to rent a property privately have found themselves in the enviable position of being in the driving seat as properties get snapped up by eager tenants in record timeframes.

For many would be buyers, finding the initial deposit is the biggest hurdle to taking possession of a new property but, there are a number of commercial and governments schemes now available to make this an easier prospect. While mortgage payments can be tied to a base interest rate to keep them relatively steady, rental costs are not fixed in the same way and are subject to inflation and market factors such as the current surplus of demand. This means that while tenants costs soar, homeowners who have saved a deposit will be sitting pretty in their own homes after 25 years.  Buying also offers greater security with no rental fees to pay from pensions further down the line.

I Am The Agent helps property owners up and down the country to advertise a property online and provides a fixed fee package which means savings can be passed on to buyers, making the step onto the property ladder more affordable.

To browse all properties for sale and for more information visit http://www.iamtheagent.com