New research shows UK house prices outstripping average take-home pay at a greater rate than in previous decades, with Oxford emerging as the most unaffordable place to live.
The research by Danny Dorling, in a book entitled All That Is Solid, shows the average cost of a house in Oxford, at £426,720, outstrips the average annual wage of £26,500 by 16.1 times. In London, the corresponding figures are £501,520 and £31,950, giving a ratio of 15.7.
Dorling noted that the situation in Oxford is not helped by the fact that the city is entirely surrounded by greenbelt land where development is restricted. “We need people to realise that this is a national strategic issue about where to house our growing population,” he said.
