Winchester is the least affordable city to buy a home in, says Halifax.

Its figures suggest buying a home in the Hampshire commuter city will cost 14 times average earnings, higher than Greater London at 11 times.

Typically, buying a home in a UK city will now set buyers back 8.1 times their average earnings, up from 5.6 times a decade ago.

House prices have “generally continued to outstrip wage growth”, said Halifax managing director Russell Galley.

Winchester has leapfrogged Oxford as the least affordable city in the annual survey, while Londonderry is the most affordable for the third year in a row.

In the Northern Ireland city, a home will cost 4.7 times average earnings.

Over the past year, Halifax reckons the average house price in UK cities has grown by 10.3%.

Its analysis of figures from the Office for National Statistics suggests average earnings for people living and working in cities climbed just 2.1% over the same time period.

Average city house prices increased to £287,440, while comparable average earnings rose to £35,677.

Surprisingly, cities are slightly more affordable than the average for the UK as a whole, according to the figures.

But that may partly reflect more people moving out of cities in search of more space during the pandemic.

Winchester beauty

A home in Winchester will now set buyers back an average £630,432, up 8% in the last year.

That leaves it with the highest average house prices of any UK city, ahead of St Albans at £604,423 and London at £564,695.

The least expensive average house prices among cities are in Londonderry at £155,917 and Hull £156,924.

Average earnings in Winchester are £45,059, higher than for the UK as a whole and only beaten by St Albans at £59,391, Greater London at £51,257 and Hereford at £48,048.

“The beauty of Winchester is that you can be both country mouse and city mouse at the same time,” Katie Cave, director at mortgage broker Clear point Finance.

“Weekends can be spent taking in the views at the top of St Catherine’s Hill, nestled in the heart of a nature reserve. Then come Monday morning, you can hop on the train to London and be at your desk in just over an hour.”

·         The Top 20 Least Affordable Cities In 2021

(Figures show the price-to-earnings ratio followed by the average house price and average annual earnings. Source: the Halifax)

1. Winchester, South East, 14.0, £630,432, £45,059

2. Oxford, South East, 12.4, £486,928, £39,220

=3. Truro, South West, 12.1, £356,788, £29,558

=3. Bath, South West, 12.1, £476,470, £39,508

5. Chichester, South East, 10.6, £446,899, £37,352

6. Cambridge, East Anglia, 11.9, £482,300, £40,492

7. Brighton and Hove, South East, 11.6, £449,243, £38,737

8. London, South East, 11.0, £564,695, £51,257

=9. St Albans, South East, 10.2, £604,423, £59,391

=9. Chelmsford, South East, 10.2, £424,690, £41,781

11. Salisbury, South West, 10.0, £392,355, £39,154

12. Exeter, South West, 9.9, £323,554, £32,635

13. Leicester, East Midlands, 9.7, £279,080, £28,725

14. Norwich, East Anglia, 9.4, £306,946, £32,632

15. Bristol, South West, 9.3, £346,902, £37,357

=16. Southampton, South East, 9.0, £310,435, £34,429

=16. Canterbury, South East, 9.0, £365,168, £40,565

=16. Gloucester, South West, 9.0, £287,600, £31,987

19. Worcester, West Midlands, 8.8, £303,132, £34,389

20. Cardiff, Wales, 8.7, £276,851, £31,946

·         The Top 20 Most Affordable Cities In 2021

(Figures show the price-to-earnings ratio followed by the average house price and average annual earnings. Source: the Halifax)

1. Londonderry, Northern Ireland, 4.7, £155,917, £33,138

=2. Carlisle, North, 4.8, £163,232, £34,087

=2. Bradford, Yorkshire and the Humber, 4.8, £164,410, £34,219

=4. Stirling, Scotland, 5.4, £208,927, £38,744

=4. Aberdeen, Scotland, 5.4, £205,199, £38,016

=4. Glasgow, Scotland, 5.4, £196,625, £36,205

7. Perth, Scotland, 5.5, £203,229, £36,700

=8. Inverness, Scotland, 5.6, £191,840, £34,373

=8. Hull, Yorkshire and the Humber, 5.6, £156,424, £27,730

10. Dundee, Scotland, 5.8, £181,150, £31,344

11. Sunderland, North, 6.0, £179,567, £29,745

12. Lisburn, Northern Ireland, 6.1, £203,386, £33,138

=13. Salford, North West, 6.2, £211,903, £34,444

=13. Durham, North, 6.2, £196,274, £31,762

=13. Liverpool, North West, 6.2, £215,741, £34,911

=13. Belfast, Northern Ireland, 6.2, £205,228, £33,138

=13. Lancaster, North West, 6.2, £217,392, £35,004

18. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North, 6.3, £229,434, £36,212

19. Stoke-on-Trent, West Midlands, 6.5, £200,161, £30,698

20. Hereford, West Midlands, 6.6, £316,929, £48,048