Oxford least affordable city in England for first-time buyers

Oxford has been named as the least affordable city in England for first-time buyers. Based on the average monthly mortgage payment as a percentage of income, the average monthly mortgage repayment taking up 49.37 per cent of a couple’s take-home pay.

This is based on an average property price of £540,005 in the city, combined with an average annual salary of £31,232.

Bath (47.65%) and London (47.12%) followed close behind, highlighting the difficulty of getting onto the property ladder in these areas. Bradford (14.30 per cent), Blackpool (15.94 per cent), and Stoke-on-Trent (17.35 per cent) topped the list for the most affordable locations.

The figures have been compiled following the launch of the government’s First Homes scheme this month. The scheme is designed to help first-time buyers and key workers onto the property ladder in their local areas -essentially targeting those that might otherwise have had to move to another city to afford their first home.

It looked at various factors affecting home affordability in June 2021, including house prices, mortgage repayments, average annual salary and monthly take-home pay to work out where across England was most and least affordable.

The ten least affordable areas in England based on mortgage payment as a percentage of income were as follows:

Oxford (49.37%)
Bath (47.65%)
London (47.12%)
Reading (38.98%)
Poole (38.72%)
Cambridge (38.49%)
Brighton (37.19%)
Slough (36.68%)
Cheltenham (36.38%)
Exeter (35.03%)

In contrast, the top ten most affordable areas for first-time buyers as follows:

Bradford (14.30%)
Blackpool (15.94%)
Stoke-on-Trent (17.35%)
Sunderland (17.56%)
Middlesbrough (17.70%)
Hull (17.72%)
Carlisle (17.82%)
Durham (18.10%)
Liverpool (18.56%)
Bolton (19.19%)