By . Becky Barrow, Business Correspondent . Families who live in rented homes are spending on average £124 a month more than those who own their properties, a report revealed. The cost of paying off a mortgage has never been lower due to rock-bottom interest rates.In 2008, a typical family spent £945 a month on a mortgage for a three-bedroom house and other buying costs such as insurance and maintenance. A family who were renting a similar property in the same area were spending only £719. Homes for sale: Rock-bottom interest rates mean that it costs £124 a month more to rent than homeowners pay on their mortgage . But the tide has turned against tenants over the past six years. The family who are renting are now paying a record high of £769 a month, and the family who own their home are spending only £645 a month on their mortgage. The calculation is based on a typical family with a 27 per cent deposit on the property and a £126,000 mortgage. The situation has never been worse . for tenants, as there is not a single region where a family who rents is . better off than one who owns, according to the report compiled by . banking giant Halifax. While . mortgages are at their cheapest rates ever, the gap highlights the . nightmare facing families who want to buy but cannot afford the huge . deposits needed to get on to the property ladder in the first place. Buy buy buy: If you can afford it, with rock bottom interest rates it is better to purchase a home than rent . As you would expect, the biggest gap between renters and owners is in London – where a mortgage for a typical three-bedroom house is £1,196 per month, while a tenant is spending £188 more. In England and Wales, the average house price has reached an all-time record of nearly £260,000, according to estate agent LSL Property Services – nearly ten times higher than the typical full-time worker’s salary of £27,000. The report comes as official figures show the number of homeowners has dropped to its lowest since 1987. Latest figures show 65.2 per cent of households in England are classed as ‘owner occupiers’. The number of homeowners has continued to fall for the last eight years, according to the Department for Communities and Local Government’s latest English Housing  Survey. Industry predictions are that the proportion will only get lower – and could eventually drop below 50 per cent. Property buyers have been helped by the Bank of England’s decision to cut the base rate of interest to 0.5 per cent, the lowest in its 320-year history, which dramatically cut the cost of a mortgage. However, with the first increase widely expected to take place next spring, mortgage holders may not be better off than renters for long.
Biggest gap between mortgage payment and rent is in London .
Average house price reaches all-time high in England and Wales .
Nowhere are renters paying less than those who own their home .
In 2008 a typical family spent £945 a month on a mortgage, now their outlay is £645, down almost 32 per cent .
At that time renters paid £719 and now have to find  an extra £50, nearly 7 per cent more .
By . Becky Barrow, Business Correspondent . Families who live in rented homes are spending on average £124 a month more than those who own their properties, a report revealed. The cost of paying off a mortgage has never been lower due to rock-bottom interest rates.In 2008, a typical family spent £945 a month on a mortgage for a three-bedroom house and other buying costs such as insurance and maintenance. A family who were renting a similar property in the same area were spending only £719. Homes for sale: Rock-bottom interest rates mean that it costs £124 a month more to rent than homeowners pay on their mortgage . But the tide has turned against tenants over the past six years. The family who are renting are now paying a record high of £769 a month, and the family who own their home are spending only £645 a month on their mortgage. The calculation is based on a typical family with a 27 per cent deposit on the property and a £126,000 mortgage. The situation has never been worse . for tenants, as there is not a single region where a family who rents is . better off than one who owns, according to the report compiled by . banking giant Halifax. While . mortgages are at their cheapest rates ever, the gap highlights the . nightmare facing families who want to buy but cannot afford the huge . deposits needed to get on to the property ladder in the first place. Buy buy buy: If you can afford it, with rock bottom interest rates it is better to purchase a home than rent . As you would expect, the biggest gap between renters and owners is in London – where a mortgage for a typical three-bedroom house is £1,196 per month, while a tenant is spending £188 more. In England and Wales, the average house price has reached an all-time record of nearly £260,000, according to estate agent LSL Property Services – nearly ten times higher than the typical full-time worker’s salary of £27,000. The report comes as official figures show the number of homeowners has dropped to its lowest since 1987. Latest figures show 65.2 per cent of households in England are classed as ‘owner occupiers’. The number of homeowners has continued to fall for the last eight years, according to the Department for Communities and Local Government’s latest English Housing  Survey. Industry predictions are that the proportion will only get lower – and could eventually drop below 50 per cent. Property buyers have been helped by the Bank of England’s decision to cut the base rate of interest to 0.5 per cent, the lowest in its 320-year history, which dramatically cut the cost of a mortgage. However, with the first increase widely expected to take place next spring, mortgage holders may not be better off than renters for long.
average £124 a month more than those who own rock-bottom interest rates.In 2008, a typical family spent £945 a month on a mortgage for a are renting are now paying a record high of £769 a month, and the family who own their home are would expect, the biggest gap between renters and owners is in London – where a mortgage for a and Wales, the average house price has reached an all-time record of nearly £260,000, according to 65.2 per cent of households in England are