Rent takes about a quarter of a typical Scotland first-time buyer income

By Scott Craig

Scotland’s average private rent was £1,013 a month in August 2026, equal to about 26% of the median net income of Scotland first-time buyers who took out a mortgage in 2025.

The Office for National Statistics Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR) put Scotland’s average private rent at £1,013 in August 2026, up 1.1% (£11) on a year earlier.

Local rents are often higher than the Scotland average. In August 2026, PIPR Broad Rental Market Area averages were £1,415 a month in Lothian and £1,266 in Greater Glasgow

ONS Mortgage statistics for 2025 show that Scotland first-time buyers who completed a regulated mortgage sale had a median net income of £46,734.

At the resolution foundation’s realistic 5% savings rate of £200 a month, it would take roughly 7 years for the median first time buyer, paying the average rent, to save a 10% deposit.

A squeeze that shows how hard it can be to build a deposit while renting.

Notes for editors

BRMA geographies are not exact local-authority boundaries.

The income figure is for people who already bought with a mortgage, not for every renter still saving, so the rent share for lower-income savers will be higher.

ONS Scotland first-time buyer median purchase price, calendar year 2025: £170,000. A 10% deposit is £17,000 — about 85 months at £200 a month.

UK House Price Index Scotland first-time buyer mix-adjusted average, July 2026: £160,341. A 10% deposit is about £16,034 — about 81 months at £200 a month.

The two series measure different things. The ONS mortgage median is the middle purchase price among completed first-time buyer mortgage sales in 2025.

The UK HPI figure is a mix-adjusted average for first-time buyers in July 2026. They should be cited side by side, not averaged into one “typical price.”

Sources

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