Survey shows north-south divide

London fell out of the top five most affordable cities in the United Kingdom for the first time in six years, according to a recent survey from Halifax, the largest mortgage lender in the UK.

The survey looked at average property prices and residents' income ratios in 61 cities across the UK for 12 months ending June to come up with a list of the 10 most affordable cities in the UK.

Property prices in various cities rose by an average of 10.3 percent to 287,000 (HK$3.07 million), but residents' salary income rose by just 2.1 percent to an average of 35,600. The ratio of property prices to income in the United Kingdom was 8.1 times, which is higher than the 7.5 times recorded last year, making this the eighth consecutive year of increases.

Winchester in Hampshire is the most unaffordable city in the UK, with a property price to income ratio of 14 times. The average price was the highest in the UK at 630,000, up 8 percent from last year, and the average income of residents was 45,000.

Oxford came in second, with property prices being 12.4 times the average income; followed by Truro, Bath, Chichester, Cambridge, Brighton, London, St Albans and Chelmsford.

The most affordable city is Londonderry in Northern Ireland, where the average property price is only 155,000 and the average income of residents 33,000, meaning the ratio of property prices to income is 4.7 times.

Coming in second was Carlisle at 4.8 times and Bradford was third at 4.8 times, followed by Stirling, Aberdeen, and Glasgow, Perth, Inverness, Hull and Dundee.

Russell Galley, managing director of Halifax, said the property affordability in the north of the UK is significantly better than in the south.

He added that rising property prices continue to surpass wage growth and reduce overall affordability, and that for many first-time home buyers, high down payments are still the biggest concern.