In spite of the fact that incomes have recently increased faster than inflation and that home prices have declined from their peak in the summer of 2022, Nationwide stated that “housing affordability is still stretched”.
Mortgage payments are taking up a larger percentage of take-home earnings, according to the lender’s house price index.
A person with an average UK salary who wants to purchase their first home and puts down 20% of the asking price will pay 37% of their take-home pay each month for their mortgage.
It is higher than the historical average of 30%.
Although the average person’s income has increased and home values have dropped by 3% from their peak two years ago.
Mortgage expenses have increased along with high interest rates, which the Bank of England increased to 5.25% in an effort to combat inflation.
Nationwide states that in late 2021, the interest rate on a five-year fixed-rate agreement for a borrower providing a 25% deposit was 1.3%. That is currently at 4.7% after skyrocketing.
In April, basic pay increased by 6% over the three months prior, according to the most recent official numbers. In the same month, inflation, or the rate at which prices rose, was 2.3%. However, after accounting for inflation, weekly incomes have only climbed by £16 over the past 14 years, according to figures from the Resolution Foundation, a think tank that studies living standards.
