There are some things in life that are destined to be, come what may.
Taxes are inevitable, it will always be grim in January and London house prices will continue to rise – or will they?
In news that almost knocked the earth of its axis, London’s ignominious title of the most unaffordable place to live in the UK appears to have been stolen by Winchester.
According to a study by Halifax, London has dropped out of the top five league tables of the most unaffordable cities to buy a home in the country.
READ MORE: South London council refuses to say how much overpaid council tax it owes to locals
Winchester has mixed the new with the old
(Image: Chris Guy/Creative Commons)
Winchester was named the most unaffordable city in the country, with Oxford, Truro, Bath, and Chichester also making the top five.
London was outside the top five least affordable cities for the first time in six years.
In the last year, there has been a 10.3 per cent surge in city house prices across the UK. According to Halifax, buying a home in a UK city will now typically set a buyer back by more than eight times average earnings.
While the average city house price increased to £287,440, average earnings in these locations increased by only 2.1 per cent annually, to £35,677.
The Hampshire town, located just 70 miles from London, has long been seen as an attractive place to live but few could have expected its meteoric rise.
According to the study, Winchester’s average income of £45,059 is now grossly unqualified to meet the average house price of £630,432.
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Top 20 least affordable cities in 2021
The data shows 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
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