Today is Mortgage Freedom Day – the day on which new homeowners have earned enough money to cover the cost of their mortgage for the whole year.
It takes the average person who has recently bought a new property 100 days to earn enough to meet their annual mortgage repayments, according to Halifax.
But renters will have to work for another 32 days before they have brought in enough cash to cover their annual accommodation costs, with Rent Freedom Day not coming until May 12.
The average annual mortgage repayment currently stands at £6,954, while the average salary is £25,603 a year after tax, according to the group.
It said Mortgage Freedom Day occurred three days earlier this year than in 2013, while it is almost a month earlier than it was five years ago.
The date has been brought forward as a result of the average net annual income increasing by £2,153 during the past 12 months.
At the same time, the average mortgage payment has risen by only £357 a year during the same period.
Craig McKinlay, mortgage director at Halifax, said: “While monthly mortgage and rental costs account for the majority of many people’s household budgets, Mortgage Freedom Day provides a different perspective on how much we spend on these costs over the course of a year.
Craig McKinlay is a mortgage director at Halifax
“Our research shows that today, if people had put everything they’d earned since the start of the year towards their mortgage, the average homeowner would be mortgage free for the remainder of the year, which is a reassuring thought.”
Unsurprisingly, there is considerable regional variation in when Mortgage Freedom Day occurs.
Homeowners in four London boroughs have to wait until well into July before they have earned enough to cover their annual mortgage costs.
Mortgage Freedom Day does not come until July 30 for those who have recently bought a home in Hammersmith and Fulham, and July 24 for homeowners in Camden.
Those in Kensington and Chelsea and Haringey have to wait until July 13 and July 1 respectively.
At the other end of the scale, people in Armagh in Northern Ireland have the earliest Mortgage Freedom Day, with it falling on February 13.
Six out of the 10 places with the earliest Mortgage Freedom Days are in Northern Ireland, with the remaining four in Scotland.
On a regional basis Mortgage Freedom Day occurs earliest in Northern Ireland, falling on March 10, followed by Scotland where it is on March 11.
Unsurprisingly, London has the latest Mortgage Freedom Day, with homeowners in the capital having to wait until May 20 to have earned enough to meet their annual mortgage costs, closely followed by the South East on May 2.
