The average property now costs seven times the typical wage, with houses more unaffordable than ever.
Research by Nationwide shows that loan payments eat up 40% of homebuyers’ monthly outgoings.
The regional differences are stark. In London 64.4% of take-home pay goes on mortgage payments, compared with just under 26% in the north of England — a range from 11 times average earnings to 4.5 times in the north.
