Oxbridge rejects rejoice, as the county of Durham has been named the most affordable county in England to buy a home, according to data published by My Home Move Conveyancing. The data looked at the average house price in each English country before dividing it by the average annual income. The results paint a predictable picture. If you live in the north of England, houses are cheaper. If you live in London, good luck.
The main number we are looking at here is called the affordability ratio. For example, for England as a whole, the average house price is £305,879, while the average annual salary is £35,955. The national affordability ratio is 8.5, meaning the average home costs 8.5 times the average salary. This is what we might describe as ‘not good’, considering that mortgage lenders traditionally offer a loan of about 4-5 times your average salary. If you had an average salary, and wanted to buy an average house, you would somehow need to find about half of the rest of the asking price. Perhaps behind the sofa? We’ll never know.
Durham’s affordability ratio currently stands at 4.3, making it (using this method) the most affordable county to purchase a home in the UK. The north of England makes up the rest of the top-10, with Tyne and Wear, Lancashire, Cumbria, South Yorkshire, other bits of Yorkshire and Northumberland all present. Shall we look at some nice pictures of those places? Places you could probably afford to live? Yes, let's.
I am being mean to London, which is unfair, considering A) I live there and B) it’s where all the jobs are basically and C) it’s not even the most expensive county on this list. That would be Oxfordshire, which has a ratio of 11.4. In second place is Devon, with 11.1, followed by London with 11. Various other bits of the south (your Sussexes, your Dorsets, your Isles of Wight, your Surreys) round out the top 10.
I think to many people, the results of this data/analysis are hardly a surprise. It is, however, still quite jarring to see just how heavily correlated the price of property is in the country to latitude. It’s not even distance to London. Have you ever tried to take the train from Devon to London? It takes forever. Newcastle is closer, when compared to time spent on a railway.
So there you have it. Yet another reason to move north, if you needed it. Happy Monday.
James Fisher is the deputy digital editor of countrylife.co.uk
The improvements to your house that could pay off several times over when it's time to sell
In a shaky housing market, doing what you can to make the most of your property's value can really pay
Why do we all love waterside homes?
Rivers, lakes, canals and the sea act as magnets for buyers. Annabel Dixon explores why ‘water always bucks the trend’.
Credit: Getty Images
Millennial misery continues, as they become first generation of homebuyers to see mortgage repayments increase
New data published in Hamptons' Generational Affordability Index is bad news for those born between 1981–95 who have made it
-
When Chelsea was grazing and pasture, not gazing and posture, this house was a Georgian dairy. Now it's a townhouse on SW3's swishest streetWill Hosie takes a look at The Old Dairy, a beautiful old home in SW3 that's seen the entire area grow up around it.
-
Four festive recipes from the Country Life Archive that have (thankfully) fallen out of favourEvery Monday, Melanie Bryan delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
-
Can you buy happiness? The latest list of Britain's happiest places, and what you could end up with if you moved thereCan you buy happiness? Of course not, but you can buy a nicer house in a better town... and, well, that's probably going to help quite a bit.
-
The wave of downsizing about to hit the property market in the UKThe Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget — and specifically the 'Mansion Tax' — has fired a starting pistol for downsizers, and the waves will wash across the entire property market. Annabel Dixon spoke to property experts across the country to gauge how it will play out.
-
'Good news, let’s make the £20 million deal happen': The Mansion Tax that turned out to be 'the least worst outcome for prime property', and the places that will be hitWhere in Britain are the £2 million homes set to be hit by the Mansion Tax? Anna White takes a look.
-
Is this the end of the Forever Home?The classic dream of finding a family house in which you can settle down, raise a family and grow old has never been harder to obtain. So has the concept of the 'Forever Home' had its day? Annabel Dixon reports.
-
The ultimate Black Friday sale? A £15 million castle reduced to £7.5 millionThe art and science of being an estate agent is never trickier than when dealing with homes that are being sold for the first time in centuries — and Ripley Castle in Yorkshire provides the perfect example. Lucy Denton explains more.
-
The abolition of Stamp Duty: Will it happen? Could it happen? What would replace it? And what would be the impact?The Conservative Party promises to abolish Stamp Duty on primary residences if it wins the next election. We canvassed property experts from across the housing industry to see what the impact would be.
-
Old homes in new lights: A look at contemporary property photographyAttention is at a premium. Having the right image that will draw the maximum number of buyers has never been more important.
-
Flower power: Garden features that could add the most value to your homeA nice garden is good for the mind, the soul and, apparently, your wallet.
