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Refreshing news for London's renters: a new study suggests that renting in the city is actually cheaper than paying off a mortgage. Take that, smug homeowners.
The news that being at the mercy of a landlord is leaving Londoners better off each month comes from analysis by property website Zoopla. Its findings suggest that owning a home in London sets people back an average of £15,216 more in payments than renting each year. That's a whopping 46 percent more.
This is based on the fact that the median rent per month in London is £2,109, compared with the average monthly mortgage payment of £3,377. No confirmation as to whether that's just because homeowners live in much plusher places than renters, though.
Lawrence Hall, a spokesperson for Zoopla, said this is down to lack of supply and the resulting ridiculous house prices – the average is £675,000. Though we're not the worst off city in terms of buying – Cambridge tops the website's list of most expensive places to buy rather than rent.
If you fancy feeling smug about buying a property then you could buy yourself a place in Glasgow, Coventry or Birmingham, the top three locations where buying beats renting. But that would involve leaving London, and who the hell wants to do that?
Looking to rent in London? Here are 18 things you need to know.