More than half of UK first-time buyers paying more for mortgage than they did for rent

Hamptons says first-time buyers in their 40s faced the biggest jump in their housing costs. Photograph: UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

A majority of first-time UK buyers now pay more towards their monthly mortgage bills than they used to pay in rent, the estate agent Hamptons has found.

Last month 56% of first-time buyers said their monthly mortgage bills exceeded their previous rent, the highest proportion in at least a decade, according to Hamptons. They paid £39 more on average.