Dentistry degrees gives graduates the greatest choice in home ownership opportunities

The typical starting salary of a newly qualified dentist is £34,840, meaning they could borrow a mortgage of up to £139,360. Provided they’ve managed to save a five percent deposit, they could afford a home worth up to £146,695.

This budget gives employed dentistry graduates the option of buying a home in 172 different towns and cities across England, Scotland and Wales. The most expensive being Fairbourne in the Welsh county of Gwynedd (with an average house price of £146,499), Maybole in Scotland (with an average house price of £146,243), and Knottingley in West Yorkshire (with an average house price of £146,224).

However, a dentistry degree does take five years to complete, which can have a bigger impact on student loan repayments and affordability.

Taking between three to five years to complete, the chemical engineering average starting salary of £31,824 offers the second highest choice of property locations. This gives grads a budget of £133,996, which makes 96 towns and cities affordable, including the Scottish town of Mauchline (£133,592).

Top 10 degree subjects offering most choice of property locations and value of homes across Britain:

However, there isn’t such a range of choice for everyone. Those studying creative arts and design are unlikely to be able to afford a home anywhere in England, Scotland or Wales without additional help, like a gifted deposit or support from a government scheme, such as shared ownership. Their typical starting salary of £15,184 would likely give them a total budget of £63,993 – assuming they were able to raise a deposit of just over £3,000. Shared ownership allows the buyer to pay a mortgage on the share they own, and pay rent and service charge to a housing association on the remaining share.

This means creative arts and design grads are still over £5,000 short of affording a home in Britain’s least expensive area, the Welsh town of Ferndale, which has a far lower average house price of £69,306.

Top 10 degree subjects offering least property location choice and value of homes across Britain:

Ishaan Malhi, founder and CEO of Trussle commented, “After graduating from university, many students will be thinking about their next steps in terms of careers and where to live. For those in a position to step onto the property ladder, it’s definitely worth considering the options.

“Young professionals are becoming more resourceful as they realise the difficulties of buying a home. People are recognising they can tackle affordability issues by buying with friends, while others consider shared ownership – a government scheme that we’re now able to help customers with at Trussle to make home ownership more accessible to everyone.

“But the sad reality is that most graduates will not earn enough in their first job to borrow enough of a mortgage to get onto the property ladder, let alone save for a deposit.

“Young first-time buyers are simply being let down by the industry. There are government-backed schemes available, but more needs to be done to help this under-served group, such as considering salary projections when calculating affordability.

“At Trussle, we’re using our data to design personalised products, specifically for underserved groups like young first-time buyers.”