UK gender housing affordability continues to widen

December 4, 2019

Research by the new home specialists, Stone Real Estate, has found that the gender affordability gap for aspiring homeowners continues to widen, with the male affordability ratio currently at 12.2 across the UK, compared to 18.1 for female homebuyers.

Stone Real Estate looked at the current level of affordability for male and female home buyers based on an affordability ratio using house price deposit costs and salary and the gap between the two. Salary data for the area in which people live rather than work was used to compare like for like when it comes to house prices and purchasing power.

Affordability ratio = 10% deposit of the average house price divided by female/male salary

*The higher the score, the less affordable.

Affordability gap = The difference between the male and female affordability ratio

The current gap

With the housing affordability ratio at 12.2 for male homebuyers and 18.1 for females, the current gap between each gender across the UK sits at 5.8, having increased from 5.5 over the last five years.

By area

England is home to the lowest affordability ratio for both males (12.8)  and females (19.1) of all UK nations and the country is also home to the largest gender affordability gap at present (6.3).

The region with the lowest affordability ratio score is the North East and it’s also home to the lowest affordability gap of all regions at 3.5, with just Northern Ireland seeing a lower gap outside of England.

London is predictably home to the highest affordability ratio, but the capital isn’t home to the largest gender affordability gap. The South East (8.5), the East of England (8.0) and the South West (7.5) all rank above London when it comes to the biggest gaps between male and female homebuyer affordability.

In the last five years, the East Midlands, South West and East of England have all seen the largest increase in the gender housing affordability gap, widening by 0.9 from 2014 until now.

The most affordable market for both male and female homebuyers when comparing local house prices to the salary earned by those living there is Hyndburn, with an affordability ratio of 4.6 and 6.5 for men and women respectively.

The least affordable is Harlow for male homebuyers with a ratio of 25.2, while for women it’s Kensington and Chelsea with an affordability ratio of 43.2.

Founder and CEO of Stone Real Estate, Michael Stone, commented:

“Getting on the ladder is a tough ask in today’s market but it’s all the tougher if you happen to be female, with the issue of affordability exacerbated by the fact that the average salary is a fair bit lower than your male counterpart.

Looking historically this gap has not only been maintained but has widened over the years and while there are a few indications that this could be starting to change, it will take a drastic turnaround to bridge the affordability gap both where salary and property purchasing power are concerned.”

Current Gender Affordability Ratio and Gap by Region

Location
Average New Build Property Price
10% Deposit Cost
Average Male Salary
Male Affordability Ratio
Average Female Salary
Female Affordability Ratio
Affordability Gap
United Kingdom
£296,343
£29,634.29
£2,422.28
12.2
£1,639.54
18.1
5.8
England
£316,789
£31,678.92
£2,467.95
12.8
£1,656.48
19.1
6.3
Wales
£226,290
£22,629.01
£2,081.60
10.9
£1,500.37
15.1
4.2
Scotland
£219,398
£21,939.83
£2,293.70
9.6
£1,617.16
13.6
4.0
Northern Ireland
£166,287
£16,628.73
£2,077.57
8.0
£1,508.41
11.0
3.0
South East
£390,282
£39,028.15
£2,751.68
14.2
£1,720.01
22.7
8.5
East
£375,371
£37,537.06
£2,571.59
14.6
£1,661.07
22.6
8.0
South West
£315,605
£31,560.46
£2,247.86
14.0
£1,468.24
21.5
7.5
London
£505,255
£50,525.49
£3,092.02
16.3
£2,164.84
23.3
7.0
East Midlands
£269,851
£26,985.09
£2,231.48
12.1
£1,500.93
18.0
5.9
West Midlands
£240,216
£24,021.55
£2,228.76
10.8
£1,522.30
15.8
5.0
Yorkshire and The Humber
£214,128
£21,412.79
£2,161.50
9.9
£1,477.02
14.5
4.6
North West
£230,297
£23,029.72
£2,206.49
10.4
£1,550.29
14.9
4.4
North East
£194,841
£19,484.14
£2,076.21
9.4
£1,512.04
12.9
3.5
*The table shows affordability ratio by gender based on the cost of a 10% deposit for a new build property in each region, divided by the average wage available in that region.

 

Change in Gender Affordability Gap in the Last Five Years

Location
2014
2019
Change
United Kingdom
5.5
5.8
0.4
England
5.8
6.3
0.5
Wales
3.8
4.2
0.4
Northern Ireland
2.7
3.0
0.4
Scotland
4.0
4.0
0.0
East
7.1
8.0
0.9
South West
6.6
7.5
0.9
East Midlands
5.0
5.9
0.9
South East
7.8
8.5
0.7
Yorkshire and The Humber
4.1
4.6
0.5
North West
3.9
4.4
0.5
London
6.5
7.0
0.5
West Midlands
4.7
5.0
0.3
North East
4.0
3.5
-0.5
The table shows the gap between the male and female affordability ratio and the change over the last five years.

 

Most and least affordable areas for male and female buyers

Most affordable areas for male buyers
Least affordable areas for male buyers
Location
Affordability Ratio
Location
Affordability Ratio
Hyndburn
4.6
Harlow
25.2
North Ayrshire
5.4
Rochford
23.7
Burnley
5.6
Cambridge
23.6
Copeland
6.6
Three Rivers
23.1
County Durham
6.9
Hackney
22.3
East Ayrshire
6.9
Camden
22.2
Wirral
7.1
South Hams
21.2
Renfrewshire
7.2
Newham
21.0
Stockton-on-Tees
7.2
Mole Valley
20.3
North Lanarkshire
7.3
Cotswold
20.2
Hartlepool
7.4
Epping Forest
20.1
Barnsley
7.4
Redbridge
20.0
Pendle
7.4
Gravesham
19.9
Clackmannanshire
7.4
Broxbourne
19.5
Inverclyde
7.6
Barking and Dagenham
19.3
Most affordable areas for female buyers
Least affordable areas for female buyers
Location
Affordability Ratio
Location
Affordability Ratio
Hyndburn
6.5
Kensington and Chelsea
43.2
North Ayrshire
7.6
Gravesham
37.9
Burnley
7.9
Rochford
37.0
East Ayrshire
8.9
Harlow
35.0
Copeland
9.3
Cotswold
34.4
County Durham
9.8
City of London
33.8
Renfrewshire
9.8
Mole Valley
33.3
Inverclyde
9.9
Three Rivers
33.0
Stockton-on-Tees
9.9
Chiltern
32.7
Pendle
10.0
Elmbridge
32.3
Na h-Eileanan Siar
10.3
Camden
31.5
Wirral
10.4
Epping Forest
31.3
Hartlepool
10.4
Broxbourne
31.1
Blackpool
10.5
South Bucks
31.0
North Lanarkshire
10.5
Guildford
30.0

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