In the past couple of years, house prices have continuously risen month on month, making it difficult for Brits to get their foot on the property ladder.

Recent research from regulated property buyers, GoodMove, found that almost half (47%) find it impossible to save for a deposit on their own and the majority (27%) take between 5-10 years to save up for enough money for a deposit to buy a home1.

To visualise how difficult, it can be to save for a deposit in London, GoodMove have created images to represent how long it would take to save for an average house deposit in pound coins, comparing this to the height of Big Ben.

The average house deposit in the city stands at £76,0502, and with a pound coin measuring 2.8mm height, this means the average house deposit in London equates to a huge 213m worth of coins.

This means that the amount of pound coins needed to save for an average house deposit in the city is 117m more in height than that of Big Ben, which stands at 96m.

Although this may seem like a scary thought for anyone looking to buy a home in London, Ross Counsell chartered surveyor and director at GoodMove offers his top tips on buying a property below:

1. Be prepared

Before you look to buy, research the area and any particular streets you’d be interested in living in and visit them before going on a viewing to get a feel for the area. Look at new listings in the area daily and know what it is you’re looking for so when you see one that fits, you can jump on it straight away.

2. Arrange your mortgage beforehand

Before putting an offer on a home you like, get a mortgage-in-principle. This is a confirmation stating how much your lender is prepared to lend you to buy a property and shows sellers that you are a serious buyer with the necessary finances to buy their property and helps speed up the buying process.

3. Look for properties under your budget

I’d recommend looking for properties under your budget. If you like the property so much as to put an offer in, then you can go in with a higher offer that will stand you in good stead over other people looking to buy. You’ll likely save yourself a lot of money in the process and be a frontrunner for the sale.

4. Be flexible

Being flexible and an easy person to work with is paramount in buying a home. It’s important to make a seller’s life easier for them, so consider doing things like letting them pick the closing date if you can afford to do so. If you are in a property chain this will be harder to do but is a great piece of advice for first-time buyers.

Summarising, Ross also says: “The property market has surged beyond expectation during the past couple of years, and we know firsthand how difficult it can be for buyers to get their foot on the property ladder. With these images we’ve created, we wanted to really see how difficult it can be to save for a house deposit to buy property in London, comparing the height of Big Ben. We hope to see the pound coin stack decreasing in height in the months to come, and that our tips will help future buyers when it comes to purchasing property in 2022.”