Terraced houses in north London. Figures show more than 80 per cent of areas in the UK capital have affordability ratios above 12. Getty Images
Terraced houses in north London. Figures show more than 80 per cent of areas in the UK capital have affordability ratios above 12. Getty Images
Terraced houses in north London. Figures show more than 80 per cent of areas in the UK capital have affordability ratios above 12. Getty Images
Terraced houses in north London. Figures show more than 80 per cent of areas in the UK capital have affordability ratios above 12. Getty Images

Unaffordability of London homes is 'off the scale'


Matthew Davies
  • English
  • Arabic

London remains the most unaffordable place in the UK to buy a home, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The annual survey of house prices and average earnings paints a picture of wide-ranging home unaffordability in the UK.

"In 2023, full-time employees in England could expect to spend around 8.3 times their annual earnings buying a home," the ONS said.

In parts of London the ratio is much higher, though not as high as in previous years. For example, in Kensington and Chelsea, the ratio is 34.3 (38.4 in 2022), in Westminster it is 19.7 (22 in 2022) and in Richmond upon Thames it is 18.4 (20.7 in 2022).

However, while drops in house prices in London and rising salaries brought ratios down fractionally, almost all areas of London, with one exception being the borough of Tower Hamlets (8.5), still have affordability ratios above 10. The ONS considers five to be the "affordability threshold".

"Some 82 per cent of London LAs (local authorities) had affordability ratios above 12 in 2023," the ONS said.

Overall in England, the ONS figures show that houses in England and Wales have not met the affordability threshold since 2002, when house prices were closest to five times the average earnings.

The number of areas with the least affordable housing – a ratio of 12 or more – has fallen from its peak of 76 in 2021 to 60 in 2023 (19 per cent of total areas). The ONS said much of the fall was due to readjustment from anomalies in the housing market and average wages that arose during the pandemic.

'Pulling away'

"Since 2007, London's average affordability has "pulled away" from other regions, becoming substantially less affordable," the ONS said.

The ONS noted that the most affordable areas of London remained less affordable than the least affordable parts of north-east England, despite falling house prices and wage inflation in 2023.

Overall in England and Wales, housing affordability improved in 237 areas (75 per cent), worsened in 77 (24 per cent), and stayed the same in the remaining one per cent, compared with 2022, according to the ONS.

"It's hard to see affordability increasing any time soon unless we have the mother of all property crashes," Simon Bridgland, director at Release Freedom told Newspage.

"Average wage growth as it has happened over the last year is just being used to support the sinking ship of living costs, not create further mortgage affordability.

"The dream of home ownership in the UK for many on average salaries has been smashed to pieces by the ever-hungry appetite of those who have affordability and have gone on to own extra rental property."

'Expensive, cramped and ageing'

Also on Monday, the Resolution Foundation think tank released analysis which it said showed the UK's housing stock is overpriced and under-delivering when compared to that of other advanced countries.

"When it comes to housing, UK households are getting an inferior product in terms of both quantity and quality," the Foundation's report said.

The report calculated that homes in England have less average floor space per person (38 square metres) than many similar countries, including the US (66 square metres), Germany (46 square metres), France (43 square metres) and Japan (40 square metres).

Research shows homes in England have less average floor space per person than many similar countries. Getty Images
Research shows homes in England have less average floor space per person than many similar countries. Getty Images

In addition, the housing stock in the UK is much older, with 38 per cent of homes built before 1946. That compares with 21 per cent in Italy and 11 per cent in Spain.

"Britain is one of many countries apparently in the midst of a housing crisis, and it can be difficult to separate rhetoric from reality," said Adam Corlett, principal economist at the Resolution Foundation.

"But by looking at housing costs, floor space and wider issues of quality, we find that the UK's expensive, cramped and ageing housing stock offers the worst value for money of any advanced economy.

"Britain's housing crisis is decades in the making, with successive governments failing to build enough new homes and modernise our existing stock. That now has to change."

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Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
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Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile

Company name: Jaib

Started: January 2018

Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour

Based: Jordan

Sector: FinTech

Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018

Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
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MATCH INFO

Euro 2020 qualifier

Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')

Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)

GROUP RESULTS

Group A
Results

Ireland beat UAE by 226 runs
West Indies beat Netherlands by 54 runs

Group B
Results

Zimbabwe tied with Scotland
Nepal beat Hong Kong by five wickets

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The line up

Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego  

Saturday: Nas, Lion Bbae, Roxanne Shante and DaniLeigh  

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why does a queen bee feast only on royal jelly?

Some facts about bees:

The queen bee eats only royal jelly, an extraordinary food created by worker bees so she lives much longer

The life cycle of a worker bee is from 40-60 days

A queen bee lives for 3-5 years

This allows her to lay millions of eggs and allows the continuity of the bee colony

About 20,000 honey bees and one queen populate each hive

Honey is packed with vital vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water and anti-oxidants.

Apart from honey, five other products are royal jelly, the special food bees feed their queen 

Pollen is their protein source, a super food that is nutritious, rich in amino acids

Beewax is used to construct the combs. Due to its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial elements, it is used in skin treatments

Propolis, a resin-like material produced by bees is used to make hives. It has natural antibiotic qualities so works to sterilize hive,  protects from disease, keeps their home free from germs. Also used to treat sores, infection, warts

Bee venom is used by bees to protect themselves. Has anti-inflammatory properties, sometimes used to relieve conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, nerve and muscle pain

Honey, royal jelly, pollen have health enhancing qualities

The other three products are used for therapeutic purposes

Is beekeeping dangerous?

As long as you deal with bees gently, you will be safe, says Mohammed Al Najeh, who has worked with bees since he was a boy.

“The biggest mistake people make is they panic when they see a bee. They are small but smart creatures. If you move your hand quickly to hit the bees, this is an aggressive action and bees will defend themselves. They can sense the adrenalin in our body. But if we are calm, they are move away.”

 

 

The team

Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory 
Videographer: Jear Valasquez 
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory 
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat 
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova 
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi 

 
Naga
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Updated: March 25, 2024, 12:20 PM`