By buying your own home you could be better off by £50,000 after 25 years, according to a new survey.

The current difference in cost between renting and buying a home in the UK shows that, based on assumptions about interest and inflation rates, it is still cheaper over 25 years to buy rather than rent shows a report from the Abbey.

Despite the continuing increase in house prices, the survey results show it is on average 16 per cent - or around £49,797 - cheaper to buy rather than rent a home in the UK.

Abbey’s annual survey says that the choice of whether to buy or rent also requires consideration of other factors. Those who rent have advantages in terms of flexibility, whereas house buyers can look forward to the benefits of home ownership at the end of the mortgage term. Buyers have also benefited in recent years from the booming housing market, although that means the cost of getting onto the housing ladder has increased for first time buyers.

Looked at purely in terms of monthly outgoings, the saving to be made by buying a property rather than renting it has reduced from 24 per cent last year to 16 per cent. This can be attributed largely to the continuing rise in property prices and the boom in buy-to-let property ownership, which has fuelled a reduction in rent in some regions.

Two bedroom flats offer buyers the biggest savings over renters in the majority of regions, which is good news for first-time buyers keen to get their first step on the property ladder. The single biggest saving could be made in the west of Scotland, where a buyer of a two bedroom flat could save up to £160,356, or 60 per cent, over 25 years.

UK Highlights

Regional Highlights

• The west of Scotland is where the biggest savings could be made, where the average homeowner could save 30 per cent, equivalent to £88,966. But, the east of Scotland isn’t far behind – homeowners there could save £76,188, or 26 per cent, over 25 years if they choose to buy rather than rent.
• The north west is, on average, the cheapest region in which to rent a property over 25 years, although buying a property could still potentially save someone £38,952 over the same period.
• Yet again, Greater London and the south east are the most expensive areas for both renting and buying a property. The average cost of renting in these areas is less than in Abbey’s 2003 survey, suggesting that the supply of rental properties in these areas may be outstripping demand. However, it is still cheaper to buy than rent, and is, on average, eight per cent cheaper – that’s a saving of £38,856.