Lancashire’s Ribble Valley and Fylde District have seen the most significant improvement in homeownership affordability over the last decade in England, a new study has found.

Moving platform Getamover.co.uk analysed data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on the ratio of median house prices to median annual earnings in each English local authority between 2013 and 2023. Data was gathered on the local authorities with the highest decrease in house price-to-earnings ratio over the last decade to reveal the spots where homeownership affordability has improved the most.

England’s average house price has risen by £103,000 over the last decade, with the average annual wage also rising by £7,734. House prices rose at a faster rate than earnings, with the ratio increasing by 21.73%, meaning the average home costs over eight times the average yearly earnings.

London, as many would expect, remains the most unaffordable region to buy a home, with a ratio of 11.95; the East Midlands has seen the largest decline in homeownership affordability over the decade, with the house price to income ratio rising by 35.58% to 7.43.

The North East is the only region of England where wages have increased at a faster rate than house prices. The average cost of a home has risen by £33,000 while annual wages have risen by £7,087, making it more affordable to buy a home in 2023 than in 2013.

Ribble Valley in Lancashire topped the study as the area with the most significant jump in homeownership affordability across England. Wages rose almost twice as fast as house prices, with the ratio falling by 17.89%, which was the highest decrease in the study. While the average price for an existing dwelling rose by £69,500 in the area, the median annual earnings increased by £17,156.

Another Lancashire area, Fylde, took the second spot among the areas in England with the largest increase in homeownership affordability. Over the last decade, the average house price in the region rose by £69,500 to £229,500. Meanwhile, the median annual income of residents has increased by £16,342. The ratio of house prices to earnings has fallen by 14.59% during this time.

Tandridge ranks third in the study of the top English areas where homeownership is becoming increasingly affordable. Since 2013, the average house prices to income ratio has dropped by 10.87%, securing it third place in the ranking. Despite house prices rising by 66.67% to £500,000 over the last decade, the median annual earnings of residents have gone up by 86.86% to £40,374.

Darlington is placed fourth among England’s areas where the affordability of buying a home has improved the most. In 2013, the house price to annual income ratio sat at 5.4 in the region, falling by 10.19% to 4.85 in 2023. During these years, the average house price has only risen by £35,000 to reach £150,000, while residents in the area have enjoyed a rise in median earnings of £9,640.

Blackpool rounds out the five areas where homeownership affordability has improved the most. The house-to-price-to-income ratio has fallen by 7.45% over the last decade, with the average house price increasing by £38,500 and the median annual income growing by £10,458.

West Lancashire ranks sixth among the areas of England where the affordability of buying a home has improved most. The region has seen house prices rise by 42.29% to £223,750 over the last 10 years, while the median annual income has jumped by 51.27% to £35,188. These figures mean the ratio of house price to income has decreased by 5.92%.

Wyre Forest has also been named as one of England’s best areas for improved homeownership affordability. The average price of an existing dwelling sat at £145,000 in 2013 and rose to £235,000 as of September 2023. Over the same period, the median annual income has increased from £18,898 to £32,334. The average house price was 7.67 times the median income in 2013 and has now dropped to 7.27 times the median earnings, representing a decrease of 5.22%.

Westminster has seen the eighth largest decline in house prices to income ratio across England over the last decade, with 4.32%. The average house price rose by £201,500 in this time and the median annual earnings increased by £12,497. As of 2023, the average cost of an existing dwelling in Westminster is 18.61 times the median yearly income in the region, the second highest in England behind Kensington and Chelsea (34.26).

Hartlepool ranked ninth among the English areas where homeownership affordability has increased most. The ratio of house prices to income has fallen by 3.5% over the last decade, with income rising faster than house prices. Since 2013, the average cost of a new dwelling in Hartlepool has increased by £16,000, while the median annual earnings have increased by £5,164.

Middlesbrough is the final local authority to feature in the study of England’s best areas for improved homeownership affordability. The house price-to-income ratio has decreased by 2.6% over the last ten years, meaning the average home is now worth an estimated 4.12 times the median annual salary in the area. While median earnings rose by £7,466, the average house price increased by £28,000.

The areas of England where homeownership affordability has improved most in the last decade:

David Burrows, Head of Getamover.co.uk, commented on the study: “Approximately 303 local authorities across England have seen house prices rise at a higher rate than wages over the last decade, with the affordability of buying a home falling significantly in four London boroughs.

“This study shines a spotlight on the areas in which housing affordability shows some signs of improvement. Lancashire is home to four different local authorities which featured in the study. With house prices falling at the start of 2024, it will be interesting to see whether purchasing a home becomes more of a possibility for aspiring homeowners across England over the next decade.”

Sources: ONS – House price (existing dwellings) to workplace-based earnings ratio

Methodology: Data was gathered from the latest ONS release on the house price (existing dwellings) to workplace-based earnings ratio. The 2013 ratio was compared to the latest 2023 ratio to see which local authorities had seen the largest increase over the last decade.

Each area was ranked to reveal the local authorities where homeownership affordability is declining most.