Housing in the majority of English and Welsh regions became more affordable in 2019, though those wishing to purchase property in and around London still face significant challenges as house prices continue to rise, according to a fresh study by the UK Office of National Statistics (ONS) published on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th March, 2020) Housing in the majority of English and Welsh regions became more affordable in 2019, though those wishing to purchase property in and around London still face significant challenges as house prices continue to rise, according to a fresh study by the UK Office of National Statistics (ONS) published on Thursday.
The study was based on comparing the median purchase price of a property with the annual average income in every region of England and Wales. Overall, ONS found that full-time workers in England expected to pay 7.8 times their annual salary to purchase a property in 2019, compared to 8.0 times their annual salary in the preceding year.
In Wales, full-time workers expected to pay 5.8 times their annual salary for a property in 2019, and ONS reported that there was not a significant change from the preceding year.
ONS found that in 55 percent of local authority districts, annual earnings had outstripped the rise of house prices. In England, average earnings increased by 2.7 percent from 2018 to 2019, while the median house price increased by just 0.02 percent in the same period, the bureau reported.
The ONS report also revealed the lack of affordability house buyers face in and around London, as eight of the top 10 least affordable regions to live in England and Wales were in the UK capital. In Kensington and Chelsea, average house prices in 2019 were estimated to be 39.6 times greater than average annual earnings.
Despite the findings of the ONS, the UK continues to be in the midst of what many call a housing crisis, as the number of homeless people continues to rise. In December, housing charity Shelter estimated that 280,000 people in England alone are homeless, an increase of 23,000 since 2016.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party, in its manifesto ahead of December's general election, pledged to build hundreds of thousands of affordable homes to "end the blight of rough sleeping."
