House prices now eight times average earnings

House prices cost nearly eight times earnings on average in England and Wales last year. The Office for National Statistics said in 2017, full-time employees could typically expect to spend around 7.8 times their annual earnings on purchasing a home in England and Wales, up from 7.6 in 2016. The change was driven largely by the decreasing housing affordability in England, with no significant change in Wales, the report said. A regional breakdown shows London was the least affordable area with the average price relative to average earnings ratio stretching to 13.24, while the lowest regional ratio was in the North East at 5.18. The average house in 2017 rose 4.5% to £225,000, the ONS said.

The Times (26/04/2018)