With house prices rising at their fastest pace in 17 years, new research has revealed that Oxford one is the UK's least affordable location to get a mortgage, as some residents need to borrow over seven times their salary just to get on the property ladder.
It’s well above the usual multiplier of four-and-a-half times a borrower’s salary, or even five for lower-risk applicants.
The figures, compiled by online mortgage broker Mojo Mortgages, analysed salary data from the Office of National Statistics and January 2022 property valuation data from Zoopla to establish the average income multiple required to buy a property in each location.
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Bath topped the list as the UK's least affordable location, with residents earning an average salary of £29,940 needing to borrow 7.50 times their salary in order to purchase a £528,530 property - the average for the city.
Oxford followed closest behind (7.29) with London (7.13) completing the top three most expensive locations for first-time buyers.
At the other end of the spectrum, it was Hull (2.30), Bradford (2.35) and Gateshead (2.38) where property was most affordable when compared to average salary.
Government incentives including the stamp duty holiday and First Homes scheme have helped to fuel sales, but pent-up demand has also caused prices to rocket, with recent reports suggesting prices have risen at the fastest annual pace in 17 years in January 2022.
The full research can be found at https://mojomortgages.com/mortgage-income-multiples-the-cost-of-borrowing-in-2022
