Why first-time buyers should head for Oldham
Filed under: Property, House and Home
First-time buyers should head for Oldham. Why? The Lancashire town has been found to be the best value in the country for those taking their first step on the property ladder.
Mortgage website realpricecomparison.com looked at the cost of buying property in different towns across the UK and concluded that Oldham was a good bet.
The average monthly mortgage payment in the town is £353 a month compared to the average first-time buyer mortgage of £464 a month.
So, where else is worth buying?
The analysis looked at average house prices, and is based on buyers with a 25% deposit and average best-buy mortgage rates.
As well as Oldham, other areas in the North West including Salford, Manchester and Bolton were found to offer excellent value with monthly mortgage payments at £374, £375 and £379 respectively.
London was unsurprisingly the most expensive city with the average monthly mortgage more than three times as expensive as in Oldham, coming in at £1,240.
Solihull was found to be the second most expensive area with repayments of £731. Showing the great variance of prices in the North West, Trafford and Stockport were also expensive areas, with monthly mortgage payments of £694 and £549 respectively.
Francis Ghiloni, commercial director at realpricecomparison.com, says: "For those with smaller deposits, monthly mortgage rates increase quickly, potentially adding thousands of pounds a year to the cost of home ownership and this is before increased mortgage fees are factored in. Anyone looking to take a first step onto the property ladder should try and bide their time until they have a sufficient deposit to secure a best-buy mortgage."
Recent Posts
- Gonna get yourself evicted? (03/9/2010)
- Don't pay for stuff: the secrets to winning competitions (03/9/2010)
- Smokers and the overweight benefit from special pensions (03/9/2010)
- Open top grannies hit the highways (03/9/2010)
- Improve your credit score in five easy steps (03/9/2010)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-13-2010 @ 1:34PM
Leila Lacrosse said...
OK, so mortgage repayments are cheaper outside London. No surprise there. But what about jobs and salaries? What is Oldham's unemployment rate?
It is all well and good telling people that a town is good for FTB's but most people I know need to work in order to pay that mortgage.
http://leilalacrosse.livejournal.com/#asset-leilalacrosse-780
Reply
2-15-2010 @ 7:56PM
Helen said...
Well, as someone born in Oldham and now living in Dorset I can see both sides Leila.
Yes, unemployment is higher in Oldham itself, and I have to say the town centre is in dire need of a facelift.
However, having lived in the south for some time now, I am actually starting to see the benefits if living up north. There are some lovely parts of Oldham, and very popular in terms of buying, such as Saddleworth.
You comment on the need to work, but it is always possible to commute to other areas of the north-west as the towns are very closely linked. And finally, I am renting, and have been ever since leaving school 10 years ago. Going back up north is THE only way I could ever afford to get on the property ladder, as the cost of living in the south is so horrendous.
Reply
2-15-2010 @ 11:23PM
time to go! said...
Google search the following 3 words - Oldham no go then read away, first search item? bbc radio 4 quote - "An investigation for Today has found disturbing evidence that Asian youths in parts of Oldham are trying to create no go areas for white people"
next.... the Independent, headline -In Oldham's 'no go' zone, all it took was a scuffle to set off a terrible night of rioting - Oldham's customary racial tensions had been crackling away uncomfortably all week.
Cheap to live there? i wouldnt live there for free - thanks all the same.
Reply
2-16-2010 @ 2:35AM
ME said...
Well said time to go, just take one quick drive through oldham and you would think you are in a different country never mind town................would never live in that shit hole if you paid 'ME' £500 a month to do so.
2-16-2010 @ 5:08AM
kathryn adeyemi said...
i was born in oldham and all the riots you refer to were 10 yrs ago and yes there is a very diverse community but if you open your eyes,there is everywhere.its called integration.and if i remember rightly the riots were caused by racism,so it would be right up your alley 'me'.
Reply
2-16-2010 @ 6:51AM
Mark Dunkerley said...
I was born and brought up in Chadderton / Oldham and had 5 houses down in that town. I live in Scotland now since 1992 but still visit family twice a year and keep in touch with old friends on facebook and email. Oldham has many outstanding qualities in terms of ammenities and places to visit, but the area surrounding the centre needs to be looked after as it is showing its age. The population of Oldham is so diverse that the council should continue to develop to incorporate all the peoples needs. This will bring a sense of pride to the town and help it to thrive throught the 21st century and beyond. I lived and worked through the riots as a health care professsional and I still believe it is a town worth fighting for not against.
Reply
2-16-2010 @ 8:10PM
time to go! said...
Interesting comments....
Oldham a town worth fighting for? Seems theres a lot of folk who agree with you!
Ive just been back on google, this time i put in "oldham gang war" and yep, theres lots of gun fighting and killing going on there
Money has been tipped into the place to try and improve it, little sign of that.
Im still not convinced that I, as a first time buyer, ought rush off and buy a house in Oldham, I could well end up being shot in one of its no-go zones think i'll pay that extra £110 a month to live somewhere... er..... less exciting?
Perhaps you really can't put lipstick on a pig.
Reply
2-24-2010 @ 8:42PM
no thanks... said...
vicious assault in Westwood was racially motivated......four white teenagers were jumped by a group of seven Asian males......two similar incidents in that area in the preceding days
www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/8/news-headlines/37321/attack-was-racially-motivated-say-police
head for Oldham? no thanks.
Reply
2-26-2010 @ 3:52AM
Mick said...
It's not somewhere i would fancy relocating to, as the previous comments point out it is a potentially hostile area.
http://www.obsidian.me/2009/09/another-gangland-killing-in-oldham.html
As far as the mortgage goes I can't see anyone in their right mind stumping up a 25% deposit to live in an area like this. There are a few 95% deals http://www.mortgagedealshelp.com/mortgage-deals/95-mortgage-deals-in-jan-2010-370
and an increase in 90% deals recently among them being Santander http://www.mortgagedealshelp.com/mortgage-deals/90-mortgage-santander-introduces-the-90-mortgage-412 but in the main nobody is going to move to this area out of choice, considering employment, local salary and the environment.
Reply