House prices more than double in the last decade
House buying affordability has improved in 75% of local authorities in England and Wales, according to official figures.
Out of the 318 local authorities, 237 have seen better affordability since 2022 while 77 have seen a decline.
A report on housing affordability by the Office for National Statistics said the average price for homes sold in England and Wales increased by 56% in the last 10 years.
In 2013, the average price was £183,000 while last year’s average jumped to £285,000. In 2021, the average price for homes increased by 14% in just a year.
Last year, only 23 local authorities had homes bought for under five times the workers’ annual earnings. With the affordability threshold being five times the annual earnings, this means that only 7% of the authorities are within the remit of providing affordable housing.
In 2023, full-time workers in England could expect to spend approximately 8.3 times of their annual earnings to buy a home. The Welsh equivalent was 6.1 times.
The North-east is the only area where existing dwellings were within the affordability threshold.
The most affordable regions in 2023 were in the North-west, North-east and Yorkshire and the Humber. Last year, the most affordable local authority was Burnley in Lancashire along with nearby Hyndburn.
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