According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in 2025, the average home in England cost £300,000, 7.6 times the average full-time salary of £39,300. In Wales, the average house price of £213,000 was six times the average salary of £35,800.
Both were improvements from house-price-to-earnings ratios of 7.8 and 6.1 in 2024 respectively.
The affordability ratio in England was at its lowest since 2015, while in Wales, it was now similar to levels seen between 2015 and 2020.
Affordability across England and Wales has continued to improve after ratios peaked in 2021. Since 2021, average house sale prices have risen by 5%, while average earnings have increased by 25%.
In 2025, average earnings improved by 4% or £1,580, while house prices in England and Wales rose 1% or by £5,000.
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Slight decline in affordable housing locations
Using a threshold of five, the ONS found that 23 areas – or 7% of local authorities – had homes selling for less than a housing affordability threshold of five times earnings.
This was a decrease from 25 areas – or 8% of locations – in 2024, but broadly similar to trends seen over the last decade.
Compared to the start of the series in 1997, this was a substantial decline, when 88% of areas were below the affordability threshold, and down from 2003, when 31% of locations were affordable.
The most affordable local authority areas in 2025 were Hyndburn and Kingston upon Hull, both with ratios of 4.1.
The least affordable was Kensington and Chelsea, with a ratio of 25.2. This was lower than 28.2 in 2024 and down from a peak of 44 in 2018, reflecting the fact that average house prices in the area were at their lowest since 2014.
Of the 318 local authorities in England and Wales, housing affordability improved in 213 areas, making up 67%, and worsened in 103 areas, accounting for 32%.
Regionally, London was the least affordable area, with a ratio of 10.6, and the North East was the most affordable, with a ratio of five.
The housing market is stabilising
Ryan Etchells, chief commercial officer at Together, said: “While figures indicate that homeownership became marginally more affordable last year, the wider picture shows it’s still a pressing issue for the country.
“House prices remain elevated, especially in the capital where they are more than 10 times the average wage. Despite reforms to the planning system, and public investment in construction, housebuilding is going backwards, with private housebuilding across Britain falling by 6.3% in the three months to January 2026.”
He added: “One of the keys to increasing the dwindling supply of housing stock to cope with the current demand for property is creating an economic environment where housebuilders can be confident starting projects in the knowledge they can make sustainable profits on their investments.
“The sheer cost of the raw materials and labour required for construction, combined with a huge amount of red tape, means that new projects are being put on the back burner. More efforts by the government need to be made to address supply chain issues as well as labour shortages to get the private sector building again.”
Mary-Lou Press, president of NAEA Propertymark, said the improvement in affordability reflected a market that was “stabilising rather than fully recovering”.
She said: “Affordability remains stretched by historic[al] standards, particularly for first-time buyers, and significant regional disparities continue to shape access to homeownership.
“Wider global economic uncertainty and geopolitical unrest also have the potential to influence inflation, interest rates and supply chains, which could impact future housing affordability and market stability.
“Ultimately, without a sustained increase in housing supply and continued support for buyers, affordability challenges will remain a key issue across both the sales and rental markets.”
