New Method Shows Real Cost of Owning a House.

Coutts & Co have developed a new method that shows the full economic cost of owning a home.

Coutts predicts that house prices are likely to come under further downward pressure as interest rates are increased over the coming year at the same time as real incomes are still contracting. Coutts say the ratio of prices or mortgage payments to average incomes – are sending conflicting messages and mortgage costs alone as a measure of affordability do not take into account the full economic cost of owning a home.