LONDON, Sept. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A person saving alone in London could face a 21-year wait to build a 10% house deposit, according to Checkmyfile.
The research analysed local earnings, living costs and property prices across major UK towns and cities to estimate saving times for a house deposit, wedding, car deposit and holiday.
London buyers face the longest wait
Hull recorded an estimated saving time of 6.3 years for a solo buyer. With an average property price of £170,350, a 10% deposit would require just over £17,000.
Stoke-on-Trent recorded a similar timeline of around 6.3 years, followed by Aberdeen at 6.5 years.
In London, an average property price of £729,318 puts a 10% deposit at almost £73,000. Reaching that target could take approximately 21 years.
Brighton followed at 17.3 years and Reading at 15.1 years. A solo saver in London could therefore spend almost 15 years longer building a deposit than someone in Hull.
Two incomes could halve the timeline
For couples contributing equally, the estimated deposit saving time falls to approximately 3.1 years in Hull and 10.5 years in London.
Even with two people saving, buyers in the capital could still wait longer than solo buyers in more affordable locations.
Weddings, holidays and cars reveal similar gaps
For a £22,000 wedding, Barnsley and Aberdeen recorded estimated saving times of 5.3 years on one income, followed by Wigan at 5.7 years.
In Barnsley, equal contributions from two people could reduce the wait to approximately 2.6 years. Someone saving alone in London could need 12.5 years, compared with 12.3 years in Bristol.
Saving £3,500 for a holiday could take around 10 months in Barnsley or Aberdeen, compared with two years in London.
For a £3,000 car deposit, Barnsley, Aberdeen and Wigan recorded timelines of around nine months, while Londoners could need approximately 1.7 years.
Natalie Vos, Marketing Manager at Checkmyfile, said:
"People often think of salary as the biggest factor determining how quickly they can reach major financial goals, but what really matters is how much money is left after essential costs each month."
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