The average house price in Swindon for first-time buyers has risen by a fifth over the past five years, new figures show.

It comes as property website Rightmove said the typical mortgage payment for first-time buyers has increased by £400 a month and called on the next government to support those buying their first home. 

The latest figures from the Land Registry's house price index show first-time buyers in Swindon were paying an average of £222,200 for a house in April. 

It was up 20% from an average of £185,600 five years earlier.

Overall house prices in Swindon have also jumped 20% over five years, reaching £258,100 in April 2024.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert, said reduced mortgage rates would help first-time buyers in the short term, "more so than election housing promises". 

It comes as the property website said the average mortgage payment for a typical first-time buyer in Great Britain has risen by 61% over the past five years – from £667 a month in 2019 to £1,075 this year.

Mr Bannister added: "As rates have increased over the last five years, the amount that a typical first-time buyer is paying each month on a mortgage has outstripped the pace of earning growth.

"Some first-time buyers are looking at extending their mortgage terms to 30 or 35 years to lower monthly payments, or looking at cheaper homes for sale so that they need to borrow less."

He said: "We hope that the next government can support first-time buyers with well thought out policies, which address the difficulties of saving up a large enough deposit and being able to borrow enough from a lender."

Propertymark, a membership organisation for estate agents, said surging interest rates and inflation have impacted the housing market "with force".

Nathan Emerson, chief executive, added the organisation is keen to see targeted support for first-time buyers at the first opportunity from any incoming government.

"The potential of home ownership should never be a prospect that is ever out of reach for people," he said. 

"As inflation is now back within the range initially targeted, we are optimistic to see the base rate cut as soon as realistically possible, which would be very welcome news for people stepping onto the housing ladder when it does happen."

The most recent Land Registry figures also show a significant drop in housing sales compared to five years prior, with over 26,600 sales across Great Britain in February this year compared to 66,000 the same month in 2019.

In Swindon, there were 74 sales in February this year – down from 233 five years earlier.

The average UK house price rose by 0.2% month on month in June, as high mortgage rates continued to hold back buyer activity, according to a report.

The modest monthly growth leaves the average price of a house in the UK at £266,064, the index by Nationwide Building Society showed, up 1.5% on the same time last year.

Prices rose at a slower rate than in May, when they increased by 0.4% month on month, indicating a slight flattening in growth as the housing market remained subdued.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “While earnings growth has been much stronger than house price growth in recent years, this hasn’t been enough to offset the impact of higher mortgage rates, which are still well above the record lows prevailing in 2021 in the wake of the pandemic.”

“For example, the interest rate on a five-year fixed-rate mortgage for a borrower with a 25% deposit was 1.3% in late 2021, but in recent months this has been nearer to 4.7%.

“As a result, housing affordability is still stretched. Today, a borrower earning the average UK income buying a typical first-time buyer property with a 20% deposit would have a monthly mortgage payment equivalent to 37% of take-home pay – well above the long-run average of 30%.”