With house prices rising at their fastest pace in 17 years, first-time buyers now need to borrow up to seven-and-a-half times their salary to get on the property ladder in some popular UK cities, according to new figures.
Bath tops the list as the country’s least affordable location according to new research of 100 UK towns and cities by online mortgage broker Mojo Mortgages, followed by Oxford and London.
Homes in Bath typically command a price tag of more than £528,530, almost twice the national average of the locations featured in this research of £287,830.
But with residents typically earning £29,940 a year – a couple who’d saved a 15 per cent deposit would still have to borrow seven-and-a-half times their salary for an average-priced home in the city.
While wages are higher in Oxford, a couple would need to borrow 7.29 times their combined salary for a £570,357 property, and in London it would be an income multiple of 7.13 for a £704,138 home.
The top 20 most expensive towns and cities are all in or around the South of England, apart from Stratford-upon-Avon in 18th.
| Location | Average annual salary (£) | Total salary of couple both earning average salary (£) | Average House price (£) | Average deposit in (£) (based on 15%) | Remaining mortgage balance (£) | Average income multiples required |
| Bath | £29,940.00 | £59,880.00 | £528,530.00 | £79,279.50 | £449,250.50 | 7.50 |
| Oxford | £33,263.00 | £66,526.00 | £570,357.00 | £85,553.55 | £484,803.45 | 7.29 |
| London | £42,001.00 | £84,002.00 | £704,138.00 | £105,620.70 | £598,517.30 | 7.13 |
| Poole | £28,753.00 | £57,506.00 | £454,658.00 | £68,198.70 | £386,459.30 | 6.72 |
| Brighton | £30,946.00 | £61,892.00 | £462,035.00 | £69,305.25 | £392,729.75 | 6.35 |
| Guildford | £41,369.00 | £82,738.00 | £613,099.00 | £91,964.85 | £521,134.15 | 6.30 |
| Watford | £32,965.00 | £65,930.00 | £456,029.00 | £68,404.35 | £387,624.65 | 5.88 |
| Slough | £33,198.00 | £66,396.00 | £457,549.00 | £68,632.35 | £388,916.65 | 5.86 |
| Exeter | £26,710.00 | £53,420.00 | £333,933.00 | £50,089.95 | £283,843.05 | 5.31 |
| Cambridge | £39,112.00 | £78,224.00 | £480,366.00 | £72,054.90 | £408,311.10 | 5.22 |
| Bournemouth | £28,753.00 | £57,506.00 | £350,230.00 | £52,534.50 | £297,695.50 | 5.18 |
| St Albans | £50,356.00 | £100,712.00 | £611,025.00 | £91,653.75 | £519,371.25 | 5.16 |
| Canterbury | £30,867.00 | £61,734.00 | £368,661.00 | £55,299.15 | £313,361.85 | 5.08 |
| Reading | £37,324.00 | £74,648.00 | £445,438.00 | £66,815.70 | £378,622.30 | 5.07 |
| Bristol | £30,579.00 | £61,158.00 | £362,563.00 | £54,384.45 | £308,178.55 | 5.04 |
| Stevenage | £29,209.00 | £58,418.00 | £345,766.00 | £51,864.90 | £293,901.10 | 5.03 |
| Eastbourne | £27,869.00 | £55,738.00 | £328,212.00 | £49,231.80 | £278,980.20 | 5.01 |
| Stratford-upon-Avon | £35,311.00 | £70,622.00 | £415,390.00 | £62,308.50 | £353,081.50 | 5.00 |
| Cheltenham | £34,896.00 | £69,792.00 | £409,614.00 | £61,442.10 | £348,171.90 | 4.99 |
| Maidstone | £32,249.00 | £64,498.00 | £377,294.00 | £56,594.10 | £320,699.90 | 4.97 |
At the other end of the spectrum, some of the best bargains to be found are in the North of England and Scotland, with the top ten most affordable areas as follows:
| Location | LocationAverage annual salary (£) | Total salary of couple both earning average salary (£) | Average House price (£) | Average deposit in (£) (based on 15%) | Remaining mortgage balance (£) | Average income multiples required |
| Hull | £29,193.00 | £58,386.00 | £158,228.00 | £23,734.20 | £134,493.80 | 2.30 |
| Bradford | £27,413.00 | £54,826.00 | £151,858.00 | £22,778.70 | £129,079.30 | 2.35 |
| Gateshead | £27,309.00 | £54,618.00 | £153,159.00 | £22,973.85 | £130,185.15 | 2.38 |
| Hartlepool | £25,530.00 | £51,060.00 | £147,916.00 | £22,187.40 | £125,728.60 | 2.46 |
| Barnsley | £27,411.00 | £54,822.00 | £167,335.00 | £25,100.25 | £142,234.75 | 2.59 |
| Blackpool | £22,567.00 | £45,134.00 | £139,752.00 | £20,962.80 | £118,789.20 | 2.63 |
| Darlington | £27,843.00 | £55,686.00 | £172,765.00 | £25,914.75 | £146,850.25 | 2.64 |
| Durham | £27,859.00 | £55,718.00 | £176,834.00 | £26,525.10 | £150,308.90 | 2.70 |
| Wigan | £28,970.00 | £57,940.00 | £184,541.00 | £27,681.15 | £156,859.85 | 2.71 |
| Doncaster | £27,661.00 | £55,322.00 | £187,706.00 | £28,155.90 | £159,550.10 | 2.88 |
| Glasgow | £29,557.00 | £59,114.00 | £200,957.00 | £30,143.55 | £170,813.45 | 2.89 |
Mojo Mortgages compared average earnings with house prices and found that 30 towns and cities in the UK were above the traditional 4.5 salary multiplier applied to borrowers.
But it found that buyers could still enjoy the buzz of a big city, without paying a premium, in Manchester and Birmingham where wages are above average and housing more affordable.
A couple buying a £235,650 home in Manchester would only need to borrow 3.77 times their salary, while in Birmingham it’d be 3.56 times for a £235,681 property.
Edinburgh and Glasgow are relatively affordable too, as are cities such as Liverpool, Newcastle and Leeds – but bargain hunters could also snap up a property in Hull borrowing just 2.30 times their salary, Bradford at 2.35 times or Gateshead at 2.38.
