Most and least affordable UK property areas

Published 06th Jul 2007

The Staffordshire Moorlands and Brent in London have been revealed as the most and least affordable places to buy, research out today shows.

A study from Woolwich Mortgages looking at the ratio of household income to mortgage payments finds all of the top five most unaffordable locations for first-time buyers are in London.

The UK's continually rising house prices have seen the average first-time buyer paying 152 per cent more for their mortgage than five years ago, £586 in June 2007 compared with £233 in 2002.

In three areas of London first-time buyers are paying more than 45 per cent of their household income - Brent (48 per cent), Ealing (46.7 per cent) and Haringey (45 per cent).

Outside of London, five locations have seen first-time buyers paying more than 40 per cent of their income on their mortgage, led by Brighton (43.6 per cent).

"For those in their 20s not already on the property ladder the outlook for getting on it doesn't look good, especially with interest rates likely to rise further. We fully expect the average age of first time buyers to go up until people are well into their 30s," commented Andy Gray, Woolwich head of mortgages.

"For those lucky enough to be on the ladder, the data suggests that in certain areas of London they are already stretched. The last thing any of them need is a further increase in base rates."

Source: ' About Property '

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