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House price affordability in Wales at its worst in at least a decade

08 Feb 2021 2 minute read
Aberaeron, Ceredigion. Picture by GregMontani on Pixabay.

House price affordability in Wales is at its worst in at least a decade, with house prices having reached 8.24 times the average salary.

Benham and Reeves analysed the average house price to income ratio based on average property values and the average net salary over the last 10 years.

House prices in Wales were only 6.96 times the average salary in 2013 but have climbed every year since then by an average of 18% of a salary each year.

The figures do not take into account that salaries in some parts of Wales are lower than the average, such as Ceredigion where ONS calculate that the yearly salary for 2020 was only £23,542.

The North East still ranks as the most affordable region where the average house price is 6.34 the average salary, along with Northern Ireland (6.48) and Scotland (6.90).

London remains the least affordable with a score of 15.74, with the South East (12.46) and South West (12.46) also remaining some of the worst regions for property affordability.

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented: “The UK’s house price to income ratio reached its highest point in a decade by the end of 2020, no doubt driven by a steep jump in house prices brought about by the market adrenaline shot of a stamp duty holiday.

“Although some regions still remain below previous peaks, this new national high demonstrates the huge financial cost of climbing the property ladder in the UK, a cost that grows largest still for those attempting to take their first step.

“Unfortunately, even with stronger wage growth in recent years, earnings have failed to keep pace with house prices and so it’s very likely we could see this issue of affordability grow larger before it starts to reduce. “


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