Men can afford almost 40% more properties than women in Blaenau Gwent
Online Mortgage Advisor analysed 10 years of median house prices from local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales and compared them to each area’s median gross salary to see where the ratio of affordability became worse for the average local in 2020 compared to 2011.
The research also shows how the change in affordability has impacted women compared to men, and which local authorities have priced out each gender the most.
Using the latest insights from the property market in March 2021, we have also revealed what percentage of homes in each county* a local male and female can afford right now, based on current mortgage rates affected by Covid-19.
Key Findings:
- Blaenau Gwent saw the largest gap in Britain between properties affordable for men and women, with men able to afford 38% more properties currently for sale than women in the same area.
- Overall in Wales, there is a 6% gap between men and women when it comes to the number of properties that can be afforded in the country, with women being able to afford just over 2,500 properties and men being able to afford just over 3,100.
- Newport ranks third in Britain for the biggest gap in properties that are affordable between men and women, with men able to afford almost 25% (24.8%) more properties than women in that area.
See Q&A with Pete Mugleston. MD of Online Mortgage Advisor here, where he advises how to get onto the property ladder.
Please credit “Online Mortgage Advisor” with a link to their research page: https://www.onlinemortgageadvisor.co.uk/content/priced-out-property/
What percentage of authorities became less affordable to the average person to purchase property?
In Britain, 290 out of 361 local authorities (80%) with comparable historic data were less affordable to purchase property in 2020 than in 2011. In Wales, 14 out of 22 local authorities (64%) have become less affordable for the average person to purchase property now than at the beginning of the last decade.
- Britain: 290 out of 361 (80%)
- Wales: 14 out of 22 (64%)
- England: 265 out of 307 (86%)
- Scotland: 11 out of 32 (34%)
What percentage of local authorities became less affordable for men and women?
Women saw 53% of local authorities in Great Britain become less affordable in the past decade while men saw 71% of local authorities become less affordable to them in the same time period.
- In Wales, 71% of local authorities became less affordable to men, while 53% became less affordable to women
- In England, 87% of local authorities became less affordable to men in the past 10 years, while 83% became less affordable to women
- In Scotland, 37% of local authorities became less affordable to men, while 30% became less affordable to women
In which local authorities have property prices outgrown male wages the most?
Men saw the biggest increase in the gap between salary and property prices in Vale of Glamorgan. In 2011 an average full-time male employee in Vale of Glamorgan could typically expect to spend around 5.7 times their annual salary on buying a home. This ratio has risen to 7.3, creating an increase in ratio of 1.53.
| Male: Change in ratio between median male earnings and median property prices per local authority |
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| Local Authority | 2011 Ratio | 2020 Ratio |
2011/2020 Difference
|
| Vale of Glamorgan | 5.7 | 7.3 | 1.53 |
| Monmouthshire | 6.1 | 7.3 | 1.26 |
| Cardiff | 5.7 | 6.9 | 1.24 |
| Swansea | 4.8 | 5.8 | 1.02 |
| Isle of Anglesey | 6.3 | 6.9 | 0.64 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 3.5 | 4.1 | 0.62 |
| Bridgend | 5 | 5.4 | 0.49 |
| Torfaen | 4.5 | 5 | 0.46 |
| Pembrokeshire | 5.7 | 6.2 | 0.41 |
| Flintshire | 5 | 5.4 | 0.33 |
In 2011, in Monmouthshire, there was a gap of £158,713 between the average man’s annual salary and the median annual property price. In 2020 the gap increased to £224,536, creating a difference of £65,823 in the past 10 years.
| Male: Difference in value between median male earnings and median property price per local authority |
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| Local Authority name | 2011 gap | 2020 gap |
2011/2020 Difference
|
| Monmouthshire | £158,713 | 224,536 | 65,823 |
| Vale of Glamorgan | £139,521 | 194,015 | 54,494 |
| Cardiff | £129,739 | 179,643 | 49,904 |
| Torfaen | £91,743 | 124,509 | 32,766 |
| Isle of Anglesey | £123,281 | 153,888 | 30,607 |
| Bridgend | £99,775 | 129,798 | 30,023 |
| Swansea | £101,515 | 128,253 | 26,738 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | £60,487 | 86,857 | 26,370 |
| Flintshire | £108,206 | 134,270 | 26,064 |
| Pembrokeshire | £128,012 | 150,728 | 22,716 |
In which local authorities have property prices outgrown female wages the most?
Monmouthshire saw the biggest increase in the gap between property prices and salary for women. Where the average female employee in the area could expect to spend 7.4 times their annual salary in 2011 this has risen to 8.6 ten years later, which is an increase of 1.24.
| Female: Change in ratio between median female earnings and median property prices per local authority |
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| Local Authority | 2011 Ratio | 2020 Ratio |
2011/2020 Difference
|
| Monmouthshire | 7.4 | 8.6 | 1.24 |
| Cardiff | 7.2 | 8.3 | 1.06 |
| Vale of Glamorgan | 7.7 | 8.4 | 0.76 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 4.2 | 4.9 | 0.71 |
| Neath Port Talbot | 4.7 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Torfaen | 5.8 | 6 | 0.24 |
| Caerphilly | 5.4 | 5.6 | 0.22 |
| Flintshire | 6.5 | 6.6 | 0.15 |
| Blaenau Gwent | 4 | 4.2 | 0.15 |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | 4.4 | 4.5 | 0.08 |
In 2011, in Monmouthshire, there was a gap of £164,242 between the average woman’s annual salary and the median annual property price. In 2020 the gap increased by £65,565 to £229,807.
| Female: Difference in value between median female earnings and median property price per local authority |
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| Local Authority | 2011 | 2020 |
Ratio Price Difference
|
| Monmouthshire | 164,242 | 229,807 | 65,565 |
| Vale of Glamorgan | 146,912 | 198,240 | 51,328 |
| Cardiff | 135,715 | 184,670 | 48,955 |
| Torfaen | 97,661 | 130,173 | 32,512 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 64,757 | 91,565 | 26,808 |
| Flintshire | 114,058 | 139,990 | 25,932 |
| Caerphilly | 89,697 | 113,502 | 23,805 |
| Neath Port Talbot | 74,818 | 96,815 | 21,997 |
| Isle of Anglesey | 129,141 | 150,976 | 21,835 |
| Swansea | 105,512 | 125,911 | 20,399 |
How many more properties can men afford compared to women?
We analysed every property for sale in Britain from Zoopla’s listings in March 2021 to find out what percentage of these properties the average male and female are able to afford in their county, based on current mortgage rates affected by Covid-19.
To do this we used the following formula:
Mortgage (4.5x salary) + 15% deposit = Max price of property affordable.
Top 10 counties with the biggest difference between how many more properties men can afford vs women
| County | Affordable Properties – Women | Affordable Properties – Male | How many more properties can males afford compared to females? |
| Blaenau Gwent | 45.80% | 83.70% | 37.90% |
| Newport | 22.80% | 47.60% | 24.80% |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 50.00% | 70.00% | 20.00% |
| Neath Port Talbot | 46.40% | 65.70% | 19.30% |
| Caerphilly | 12.20% | 28.00% | 15.80% |
| Cardiff | 12.50% | 24.90% | 12.40% |
| Flintshire | 29.40% | 41.30% | 11.90% |
| Conwy | 27.40% | 37.30% | 9.90% |
| Bridgend | 19.40% | 29.10% | 9.70% |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | 47.70% | 57.10% | 9.40% |
Methodology
- Property prices in our analysis were retrieved from the following sources: ONS (England and Wales) and ROS (Scotland), and are correct for Q2 of each year (2011 – 2020).
- Median annual gross salaries for the UK (overall and for men and women) were sourced from ONS.
- Zoopla data was retrieved in March 2021. A county had to have a minimum of 100 properties listed for sale in order to be included in our final ranking.
- Buying schemes such as Help to Buy and Shared Ownership were excluded.
- Mortgage rates were sourced from MoneySavingExpert and assume a borrow rate of 4.5x annual gross salary. We assumed a 15% deposit, based on what most lenders are requiring due to the current pandemic.