Salisbury named one of least affordable cities to buy a home
List of UK's least and most affordable cities revealed
Last updated 11th Aug 2021
The most expensive and cheapest places to buy a home in the UK on average local wages have been revealed and Salisbury hasn't fared well.
It's been ranked in 11th spot on the least affordable list in a survey by Halifax with houses costing ten times the annual earnings for those living and working here.
The company says the average home in Salisbury is £392,355 while wages are £39,154
Winchester was ranked the least affordable in the annual survey, knocking Oxford off the top spot with homes in the there now 14 times annual earnings.
Bath was in third spot.
Meanwhile London was outside the top five least affordable cities for the first time in six years.
MOST AFFORDABLE
Londonderry in Northern Ireland was named the most affordable city for the third year in a row with a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.7 followed by Carlise and Bradford.
Russell Galley, managing director, Halifax, said:
"Affordability is significantly better in the north and there are now just two cities - Plymouth and Portsmouth - with better than average affordability in the south."
GROWTH IN HOUSE PRICES
Over the past year the Halifax says the average house price in the UK has grown by 10.3% whilst the average earnings rose by 2.1%.
The typical buyer will spend about eight times their average salary.
Cities still tend to be marginally more affordable than the UK as a whole, which has a house price-to-earnings ratio of 8.5.
Wages in cities are often higher than in rural areas, and during the coronavirus pandemic many city dwellers have relocated to the countryside, helping to push up house prices there.
FULL BREAKDOWN
Here are the top 20 most affordable cities in 2021, according to Halifax, with the price-to-earnings ratio followed by the average house price and average annual earnings:
- Londonderry, Northern Ireland, 4.7, £155,917, £33,138
=2. Carlisle, North, 4.8, £163,232, £34,087
=2. Bradford, Yorkshire and the Humber, 4.8, £164,410, £34,219
=4. Stirling, Scotland, 5.4, £208,927, £38,744
=4. Aberdeen, Scotland, 5.4, £205,199, £38,016
=4. Glasgow, Scotland, 5.4, £196,625, £36,205
- Perth, Scotland, 5.5, £203,229, £36,700
=8. Inverness, Scotland, 5.6, £191,840, £34,373
=8. Hull, Yorkshire and the Humber, 5.6, £156,424, £27,730
- Dundee, Scotland, 5.8, £181,150, £31,344
- Sunderland, North, 6.0, £179,567, £29,745
- Lisburn, Northern Ireland, 6.1, £203,386, £33,138
=13. Salford, North West, 6.2, £211,903, £34,444
=13. Durham, North, 6.2, £196,274, £31,762
=13. Liverpool, North West, 6.2, £215,741, £34,911
=13. Belfast, Northern Ireland, 6.2, £205,228, £33,138
=13. Lancaster, North West, 6.2, £217,392, £35,004
- Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North, 6.3, £229,434, £36,212
- Stoke-on-Trent, West Midlands, 6.5, £200,161, £30,698
- Hereford, West Midlands, 6.6, £316,929, £48,048
Here are the top 20 least affordable cities in 2021, according to Halifax, with the price-to-earnings ratio followed by the average house price and average annual earnings:
- Winchester, South East, 14.0, £630,432, £45,059
- Oxford, South East, 12.4, £486,928, £39,220
=3. Truro, South West, 12.1, £356,788, £29,558
=3. Bath, South West, 12.1, £476,470, £39,508
- Chichester, South East, 10.6, £446,899, £37,352
- Cambridge, East Anglia, 11.9, £482,300, £40,492
- Brighton and Hove, South East, 11.6, £449,243, £38,737
- London, South East, 11.0, £564,695, £51,257
=9. St Albans, South East, 10.2, £604,423, £59,391
=9. Chelmsford, South East, 10.2, £424,690, £41,781
- Salisbury, South West, 10.0, £392,355, £39,154
- Exeter, South West, 9.9, £323,554, £32,635
- Leicester, East Midlands, 9.7, £279,080, £28,725
- Norwich, East Anglia, 9.4, £306,946, £32,632
- Bristol, South West, 9.3, £346,902, £37,357
=16. Southampton, South East, 9.0, £310,435, £34,429
=16. Canterbury, South East, 9.0, £365,168, £40,565
=16. Gloucester, South West, 9.0, £287,600, £31,987
- Worcester, West Midlands, 8.8, £303,132, £34,389
- Cardiff, Wales, 8.7, £276,851, £31,946