Belfast among the most affordable UK cities to buy a home
Getting on the property ladder in the UK isn’t getting any easier. House prices in many areas are still climbing, while wages haven’t quite kept up, leaving plenty of buyers feeling priced out. That said, where you buy can make a huge difference, with some cities still offering a more realistic way in than others.
To get a better sense of how things stack up, Mortgage Lane looked at average house prices and typical annual incomes across UK cities, working out a price-to-income ratio for each. Put simply, the lower the number, the more manageable things are for buyers, while higher figures show where affordability really starts to slip.
Belfast ranks among the more affordable cities in the UK to buy a home, with a price-to-income ratio of 4.71. Average property prices sit at £162,409, while typical earnings are £34,478, keeping the gap between incomes and house prices fairly balanced.
That puts Belfast in a fairly accessible position for buyers, especially when compared to the pressure seen in much of the South. Even as prices have risen across the UK, it remains within the more affordable end of the scale, giving buyers a bit more breathing room than many other cities.
It sits just behind Aberdeen, Dundee and Kingston upon Hull in the affordability rankings, meaning it’s slightly less affordable than those three. The difference is relatively small, but those cities still edge ahead when it comes to how far local incomes stretch against property prices.
Further down the top 10, cities like Sunderland and Stoke-on-Trent remain close in affordability terms, but the gap gradually starts to widen as ratios increase. Belfast still sits comfortably within the most affordable group, even if it’s not right at the very top.
Joseph Lane, spokesperson for Mortgage Lane, said: “For a lot of people across the UK, buying a home is starting to feel like it’s slipping further out of reach. Prices have been climbing for years, and wages just haven’t kept pace, which means buyers are having to stretch themselves more than ever just to get through the door.”
“What we’re seeing is a really mixed picture depending on where you look. In some cities, particularly in the North or parts of Scotland, getting on the ladder still feels doable with the right planning. But in much of the South, it’s a completely different story, where buyers are often facing eye-watering prices that don’t line up with local incomes.”
Lane continued: “First-time buyers are feeling this the most. Saving for a deposit, keeping up with rent, and then trying to take on a mortgage all at once isn’t easy. It’s no surprise that more people are having to look further afield or rethink what they can afford.”
“There’s no quick fix, but understanding where your money goes further can make a big difference. For some, that might mean considering cities they hadn’t thought about before, especially where the gap between earnings and house prices isn’t quite so wide.”
List of the most affordable cities:
Rank City Price-to-income ratio
1 Aberdeen City 4.46
2 Dundee City 4.54
3 Kingston upon Hull 4.66
4 Belfast 4.71
5 Sunderland 4.77
6 Stoke-on-Trent 4.85
7 Derry 5.02
8 Doncaster 5.14
9 Armagh 5.31
10 Liverpool 5.34
11 Glasgow City 5.53
12 Wigan 5.71
13 Preston 5.83
14 Lincoln 5.92
15 Bradford 6.00
16 Swansea 6.14
17 Wakefield 6.29
18 Newry 6.33
19 Wolverhampton 6.38
20 Newcastle upon Tyne 6.38