RENTERS in Wales are paying 15 per cent more each month than those who own their own homes, a report has found.

Home owners could find themselves saving an average of £1,177 a year, Halifax said.

Buying was found to beat renting across the UK, with homeowners in Yorkshire and the Humber making the smallest savings on average, at £235 a year; and those in London making the biggest average savings, at £3,727 a year.

Back in 2009, when Halifax conducted similar research, buying was found to be more expensive on average than renting.

Now, low mortgage rates have helped make monthly home loan repayments more affordable.

Although buying a home now beats renting, a rise in house prices has narrowed the gap by which people could be better off, Halifax found.

The research looked at the housing costs associated with a typical first-time buyer paying mortgage on a three bedroom home, and compared them with the average monthly rent on the same property type.

Average buying costs include mortgage payments, income lost by funding a deposit rather than saving, spending on household maintenance and repair and insurance costs. The calculations did not include one-off costs, such as stamp duty, valuation and legal fees.

Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: "The overall gap between home buying and renting is at its smallest margin for 10 years, but this masks some significant regional variations where homeowners are making some considerable savings on monthly costs.

"While Londoners stand to save the most from home ownership compared to renting, buyers in the South East and South West of England and north of the border in Scotland are also reaping the benefits.

"Buyers in two-thirds of UK regions are saving upwards of £1,000 a year from living in a home they own."

­— How does each region of the UK fare?

Here are average monthly buying costs, followed by average monthly rental costs, the percentage difference and the cash amount saved by buying versus renting on a monthly and annual basis, according to Halifax:

  • London, £1,378, £1,689, 18%, £311, £3,727
  • South East, £1,008, £1,214, 17%, £206, £2,475
  • South West, £765, £915, 16%, £150, £1,796
  • East Anglia, £736, £853, 14%, £117, £1,400
  • Scotland, £545, £647, 16%, £102, £1,224
  • Wales, £536, £634, 15%, £98, £1,177
  • North West, £568, £665, 15%, £98, £1,174
  • West Midlands, £621, £711, 13%, £90, £1,076
  • East Midlands, £620, £686, 10%, £65, £784
  • North East, £468, £530, 12%, £62, £747
  • Northern Ireland, £437, £489, 11%, £52, £621
  • Yorkshire and the Humber, £544, £564, 3%, £20, £235