London, the home of £9.50 pints and ever sky-rocketing rent prices, is no longer the most expensive city in the UK, according to new findings. The annual housing affordability analysis by Lloyd's Bank shows that the capital has been knocked off the top spot by the nearby city of… Oxford!
Recent studies show that the historic hotspot – home to one of the world's most prestigious universities – shows the biggest disparity between average regional pay and the cost of buying a home in the area, with the average home costing £385,372 and the average residents' income landing at just £36,033.
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London is no longer the most expensive city in the UK
Greater London has been found to be the second least affordable area, where the average house price is 10.5 times higher than the average salary. However, London still comes out top of the rankings for the city with the fastest rising house prices – with growth over the last five years averaging at a humongous 57 per cent.
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The capital has been beaten by university city, Oxford
This finding, though at first shocking, may not seem so terrible when taking into account the fact that the whole of the UK has been experiencing the greatest growth in house prices seen for a very long time. The findings showed that housing affordability is at its worst since 2008, mainly as a result of rapid house price growth and slow wage growth. The average price of a home in the UK soared by 32 per cent this year to £224,936 – the highest ever level.
On a happier note, the findings also revealed some of the more affordable places to make your home, with Stirling in Scotland coming out as the UK's most affordable city. The average property there costs £173,847 – just 3.7 times the average annual salary. Looks like it's time to get moving…