According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), median house price to disposable household income ratios fell from 2023 to 2024, coming to 7.9 in England, 5.4 in Wales, 5.3 in Scotland and 4.6 in Northern Ireland.
In figures, the average home in England was sold for £290,000 and the average income was £37,000 at the end of 2024. In Wales, the median house price was £200,000 compared to an income of £37,000, while in Scotland, the average house price was £185,000 and the income was £35,000.
In Northern Ireland, a home was sold for £168,000 on average, while incomes were £36,000. The ONS found that incomes in Northern Ireland rose faster than house prices in the last five years, making it the only country where homes sold for less than five times the average household income.
Housing affordability has worsened since the financial crisis
The ONS said housing affordability ratios had “generally worsened” since the start of the series up to 2007 or 2008 in all four nations.
After the financial crisis in 2008 and up until around 2013, affordability improved notably in Northern Ireland and modestly in England, Scotland and Wales.
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Between 2013 and 2019, affordability ratios stayed stable or worsened slightly, but since 2019, trends across each country have been different.
It found that housing affordability in England and Wales had been “volatile” from 2019 to 2024, which made it harder to compare each year. However, the ratio in England in 2024 returned to trends seen between 2017 and 2020.
Just top 10% earners in England can buy within five years
The ONS looked at housing affordability based on income brackets and found that in England, only the highest income decile, or top 10%, would be able to afford an average-priced home with fewer than five years of income.
In Wales and Scotland, the top 40% earners could afford an average home, while in Northern Ireland, a home was affordable with an average or higher income.
Compared to the lowest 20% incomes, a home in England was 13 times more expensive, compared to 9.2 in Wales, 7.8 in Scotland and 7.5 in Northern Ireland.
The ONS suggested that there were more variations between the countries when it came to affordability based on income than within them.
