A new study claims that Harrogate has the most mortgage debt in the whole of Yorkshire.

The research calculated the average debt per household based on the total outstanding value of residential loans and the number of households in the area.

Bridging loan specialists https://www.bridgingfinancelondon.com investigated the UK local authorities with the highest levels of mortgage debt per household, according to UK Finance data from Q4 of 2021.

Claiming top spot in the list with the highest level of mortgage debt in Yorkshire and Humber was Harrogate, with an approximate mortgage debt per household of £46,083.79.

Harrogate tops housing debt list - The research calculated the average debt per household based on the total outstanding value of residential loans and the number of households in the area. (Picture contributed)

placeholder image — Harrogate tops housing debt list - The research calculated the average debt per household based on the total outstanding value of residential loans and the number of households in the area. (Picture contributed)

The Harrogate area reported a total outstanding value of residential mortgage loans of £2,755,830,375.09 in Q4 of 2021, spread across 59,800 households in the local authority.

Leeds was identified as the area with the second highest mortgage debt rate, with York following in third.

The research calculated the average debt per household based on the total outstanding value of residential loans and the number of households in the area.

As a result of high property prices and increasing interest rates, mortgage loans can be challenging to repay and add a further burden to many people already facing financial difficulties due to the cost-of-living crisis.

Yorkshire and Humber: Approximate mortgage debt per household

1 Harrogate - £46,083.79

2 Leeds - £32,493.53

3 York - £30,790.76

4 Huddersfield – £28,175.01

5 Halifax – £27,431.87

Commenting, Matthew Archer, MD of https://www.bridgingfinancelondon.com , said: "Areas with higher house prices typically have higher levels of mortgage debt."

Methodology

First, the total outstanding mortgage loan value for each postcode in the UK was recorded, sourced from UK Finance.

Then, the UK populations per postcode were collected from Nomis, NISRA and NRS.

This data was then used to calculate the approximate households in each postcode, using the national average of 2.57 people per household, according to ONS.

The mortgage data was then used to calculate the average mortgage debt per household in each local authority.

This was done by dividing the total outstanding value of residential loans by the average number of households in each area.

For more information, visit: https://www.bridgingfinancelondon.com