At the other end of the scale, Londonderry in Northern Ireland remains the country’s most affordable city for the third year in a row, at 4.7 times earnings. A 13% increase in average earnings last year in Carlisle led to it joining Bradford in second place (both 4.8) as most affordable, ahead of Stirling, Aberdeen, and Glasgow, all with a prices-to-earnings ratio of 5.4.
Looking back further, since 2011, Gloucester’s average home has doubled in price to £287,600, followed by London and Chichester (both up 98%), and Manchester (up 97%). The average UK city house price growth over the same period was 71%.
Winchester now has the highest average house prices of any UK city, ahead of St Albans (£604,423) and London (£564,695). The least expensive average house prices among cities are found in Londonderry (£155,917) and Hull (£156,924).
Least affordable cities in 2021 (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
Most affordable UK cities in 2021 (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