New Study: Where Student Loans Delay Buying a Home Most

• In London, residents lose the most time settling their education debts, with 27 years required for the deposit.

• Low income is the largest problem for the residents of Bournemouth, with an annual net salary of £30.7K and after-loan savings of £3.1K a year.

• Oxford residents have to wait the longest in the UK to afford a house even without student debt, with 17.7 years of savings needed for a deposit.

To calculate how much education loans extend the path to homeownership, the study analysed local house prices, average annual income, and student loan repayment rules. Based on that data, the research calculated annual savings after education payments and the timeline needed to save for a deposit. The final list ranks UK cities by the gap between the no-loan timeline and the student debt schedule.

These are the top 10 cities where student loans hold up buying a house the most:

You can access the full report findings by following this link.

1. London

• Deposit needed: £105K (20% of 527.1K average home cost)

• Annual savings after loan: £3,901

• Annual savings without a loan: £6,135

• Years to save for a house without a loan: 17.2

• Years to save for a house with a loan: 27 (9.8 years difference)

Homeownership in London is delayed the most by education loans, with almost 10 more years needed to save for a deposit. On average, residents without student debt need 17.2 years to set aside a £105K deposit, but the waiting period extends to 27 years with university costs. This happens despite the highest income in the UK and the largest savings on the list, at £3.9K annually, highlighting the costliness of the capital’s housing market.

2. Cambridge

In second place is Cambridge, where 8.7 more years are needed to afford a home. House prices here are significantly lower than in London, but homeownership is out of reach for many because of the £92.7K deposit (calculated as the standard 20% of the price). At the same time, Cambridge residents earn the second-most in the country, at £36.3K in net income, but it just keeps the savings timeline under a decade.

3. Oxford

Oxford takes third spot, with the longest saving period in the UK even without an education loan, at 17.7 years. The mismatch between house prices (£448.7K on average) and salaries (£34.5K in annual net income) leads to residents being able to save only £5K a year without student loans, and £3,450 if debt payments are needed. This adds 8.3 years to deposit savings, bringing the total timeline to 26 years.

4. Bristol

Bristol ranks fourth, with student loans delaying homeownership by over 6 years. Here, residents need just under 20 years to save for a £68K deposit, as the annual savings amount to only £3.5K after the loans. Without student debt, the saving period is still quite lengthy, at over 13 years.

5. Bournemouth

Bournemouth holds the fifth spot as the city with the lowest income in the top 10. Local workers earn £37.8K in gross income, but actually receive around £30.7K. With after-loan savings of only $3.1K a year, they need five and a half additional years to set aside the deposit.

A financial expert from British Business Funding shared more data about how student loans affect homeownership:

“When income-contingent student loans were introduced in the UK, the assumption was that graduates would earn significantly more than non-graduates, making the repayment straightforward. A third of graduates now report that their degree did not improve their financial situation, and the same respondents overestimated their starting salaries by an average of 33%. In 2026, there are very few well-paid career paths without higher education, but those who cannot afford it without loans won’t be able to buy a house for decades, too.”