Household Financial Crunch Data – A glimpse

Striking Numbers

£2,300 Average increase in debt and arrears since March 2020 among those who have fallen behind on bills or borrowed for essentials.

-22.4% Change in outstanding credit card balances in year to January 2021.

360,000 Increase in unemployment in the year to January 2021.

6.8% Increase in average first-time buyer house price in the year to January 2021.Every Day in the UK

£25 billion Amount of arrears and debt accumulated by 11.1 million households since March 2020 due to the financial pressures of the pandemic.

460,000 Number of private sector renters who were behind on their rent in January 2021, up from 230,000 in May 2020.

2.3 million Number of people falling behind on their broadband bill in November 2020.

7 in 10 Proportion of Universal Credit claimants seeking advice from Citizens Advice who have not previously made a benefits claim.

Personal Debt in the UK

People in the UK owed £1,700.2 billion at the end of January 2021.

The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £60,999 and per adult was £32,087, around 107.6% of average earnings.

Net mortgage lending rose by £5.17 billion in the month, while net consumer credit lending fell by £2.79 billion.

Citizens Advice Bureaux across England and Wales answered380,283 enquiries in February 2021, 9.5% down from February 2020.Mortgages, Rent & Housing

Outstanding mortgage lending stood at £1,501 billion at the end of January 2021.

The average mortgage interest rate was 2.09% at the end of January 2021. Based on this, households with mortgages would pay an average of £2,854 in mortgage interest over the year.

HM Land Registry reports that the average house price for first-time buyers in Great Britain was £208,336 in January 2021, an annual increase of 6.8% and a monthly change of -0.6%.

According to the Office for National Statistics, private rental prices in the UK rose by 1.4% in the 12 months to February 2021.
(All the above data brought to you by Money Advice Charity)