The group’s new Financial Wellbeing Index asked employees to score their wellbeing in seven categories of financial health.
For property, the overall score was 61.2 out of 100. This compares to 53.6 across all seven areas of budgeting and planning, debt, protection, properties and mortgages, savings and investments, retirement and tax.
The results showed that 27 per cent of employees spend more than half their monthly income on housing; for one in ten it was more than 70 per cent of income. Overall, 67 per cent say that housing costs are affordable. However, 13 per cent considered housing to be unaffordable, rising to 19 per cent for young adults.
Of those who do not own a home, 47 per cent believe that they will never get on the property ladder. Among these non-homeowners, 65 per cent aspire to own a home.
Meanwhile for homeowners, 63 per cent anticipated that their housing costs would increase in the case of an interest rate rise; 65 per cent have a variable rate mortgage.
“A huge proportion of people’s salaries are going on housing costs. This makes saving for the future more difficult and contributes to the scale of uncertainty when it comes to taking the first step onto the property ladder,” said Jeanette Makings, head of financial education at Close Brothers (pictured).
Professor Sir Cary Cooper of the Alliance Manchester Business School at University of Manchester added partnered on the research. He added: “Shelter is an absolute necessity and being worried about housing affordability can unsurprisingly damage a person’s wellbeing. It’s vital that employees are comfortable and confident in how to approach their finances when it comes to housing.”
