Carlisle is 'joint second-most affordable place to buy a home' according to new research
Carlisle is one of the most affordable cities for homebuyers, according to new analysis.
A property there will cost a buyer 4.8 times the local average earnings.
This is the joint second-lowest rate in the UK, which Carlisle shares with Bradford in West Yorkshire. Only Londonderry, in Northern Ireland, has a lower figure.
This is far below the UK average for city homes, where a property will typically set a buyer back by more than eight times average earnings, the analysis has revealed.
A 10.3 per cent surge in city house prices over the past year now sees the average property costing 8.1 times average earnings, bank Halifax found.
While the average city house price increased to £287,440, average earnings in these locations increased by only 2.1% annually, to £35,677.
The affordability of city living has worsened. In 2020, house prices in cities typically had cost around seven and-a-half times wages.
After sitting at 5.6 from 2011 to 2013, the house price-to-earnings ratio in UK cities has increased for eight years in a row.
Cities still tend to be marginally more affordable than the UK as a whole though, 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.
Londonderry held its position as the UK's most affordable city for the third year in a row, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.7.
Winchester was identified as the UK's least affordable city, replacing previous table-topper Oxford, with homes now 14 times annual earnings for those living and working there.
London was outside the top five least affordable cities for the first time in six years.
Russell Galley, managing director, Halifax, said:
Housing affordability improved in seven cities compared with a year earlier: Oxford, Carlisle, Portsmouth, Durham, Salford, Inverness and Glasgow.
Carlisle and Aberdeen are now more affordable than five years ago, with their house price-to-earnings ratios easing.
Inverness is the only city found to be more affordable than 10 years ago. An average home there costs 5.6 times average earnings, down from 6.2 in 2011, due to wage growth there outstripping house price growth.
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:
1. 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
7. 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
10. Dundee, Scotland, 5.8, £181,150, £31,344
11. Sunderland, North, 6.0, £179,567, £29,745
12. 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
18. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North, 6.3, £229,434, £36,212
19. Stoke-on-Trent, West Midlands, 6.5, £200,161, £30,698
20. 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:
1. Winchester, South East, 14.0, £630,432, £45,059
2. 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
5. Chichester, South East, 10.6, £446,899, £37,352
6. Cambridge, East Anglia, 11.9, £482,300, £40,492
7. Brighton and Hove, South East, 11.6, £449,243, £38,737
8. 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<
11. Salisbury, South West, 10.0, £392,355, £39,154<
12. Exeter, South West, 9.9, £323,554, £32,635<
13. Leicester, East Midlands, 9.7, £279,080, £28,725<
14. Norwich, East Anglia, 9.4, £306,946, £32,632<
15. 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<
19. Worcester, West Midlands, 8.8, £303,132, £34,389<
20. Cardiff, Wales, 8.7, £276,851, £31,946