Mortgage payments 'cheaper than renting'

Making mortgage payments is less expensive than renting over an extended period of time, according to recent research.

Figures from Abbey show that if a UK consumer were to rent a property for the coming quarter century they would be likely to spend around £5,800 more than if they took on a mortgage instead.

However, the financial service firm suggests that the extent to which paying back a mortgage is cheaper than renting has been diminished considerably over the course of the past 12 months.

Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, head of mortgages at Abbey, commented: "A number of factors have come together to cause rent over 25 years and a mortgage for the same period to converge across the UK.

"But while on a month-to-month basis in some areas it is cheaper to rent rather than buy, at the end of the 25 years a homeowner actually has a house whereas a renter has nothing."

Meanwhile, the Council of Mortgage Lenders recently revealed that gross mortgage lending levels fell by around £3.4 billion over the course of September this year.