The dream of home ownership is fading for the vast majority of Britons as new analysis reveals a staggering affordability crisis gripping the property market.
The Widening Affordability Gap
According to official figures from the Office for National Statistics and analysis by the Open Property Group, the median house price in England reached £290,000 in 2024. This represents 7.7 times the median full-time salary of £37,600, far exceeding the typical mortgage lending limit of approximately 4.5 times income.
This dramatic ratio effectively places home ownership beyond the financial reach of around 90% of UK earners, creating what experts describe as a fundamental market failure.
A Decades-Long Structural Problem
The surge in the property price-to-income ratio is not a recent development but reflects a structural issue that has intensified over several decades. Since 1999, the affordability gap has widened by a shocking 75%, moving from 4.4 times average earnings to the current 7.7 times.
Jason Harris-Cohen, managing director at Open Property Group, states: 'Wages have not kept pace with rising property values, and this disconnect is now so severe that even diligent savers with stable incomes find the goalposts constantly shifting out of reach.'
The situation is particularly acute in London, where affordability ratios surpass 11 times earnings in several boroughs, demonstrating stark regional disparities that deepen the housing crisis for workers needing to live near employment centres.
Key Drivers of the Crisis
Several interconnected factors have combined to create this perfect storm in housing affordability:
- Stagnant wage growth that has failed to match rising living and housing costs
- Persistent housing supply shortages that continue to push prices upward
- High mortgage rates and deposit demands exceeding typical savings patterns
- Significant regional disparities that exacerbate inequality
The traditional housing ladder is now broken, leaving millions reliant on long-term renting unless they can access significant family wealth. Deposit requirements for first-time buyers now generally range from £50,000 to £80,000, an insurmountable barrier for many.
This has coincided with a sharp 25% increase in private rented households over the past decade, now numbering more than 4.6 million, reflecting a market skewed decisively against ownership.
Glimmers of Hope and Regional Variations
While the overall picture remains bleak, recent ONS data suggests modest improvements compared to 2023, when median house prices reached 8.4 times median earnings.
Elsewhere in the UK, median house prices remain lower. In Wales, for instance, median prices stand at £201,000, or 5.9 times median earnings.
However, housing experts argue that this marginal easing does little to reverse the overall trend of declining housing accessibility. They maintain that meaningful interventions are urgently required, including expanding the supply of affordable homes, enhancing shared ownership schemes, and tackling regional wage disparities.
Without such coordinated, long-term strategies, the housing market risks cementing generational divides and social inequality for years to come.
