Time to buy in the city
City homes are now more affordable than any other time in the past nine years.
According to Lloyds TSB the average price for a home in a UK city is £173,202 which is 5.5 times the gross annual income of the average worker.
This is a ratio of 5:3, the lowest ratio since 2003.
"The improvement in housing affordability within many of our major urban conurbations has been significant during the past few years and reflects the decline in house prices over the period,” Lloyds housing economist Suren Thiru said.
In comparison in 2008 the average house price in the city was a whopping 7.2 times the average salary.
At the same time city house prices have seen a decline of 18 per cent since 2008.
Of the most notable UK cities Belfast and Birmingham were the only ones to make the top ten list of most affordable cities.
While Oxford, Bath, Brighton and Hove, and Cambridge came in the top ten for least affordable cities when comparing house price to salary.
According to the figures all sixteen of the most affordable cities are located in the north of the UK while 15 of the least affordable are located in the south showing a very prominent divide.
"Looking forward, the marked improvement in city affordability is likely to help support demand for those able to enter the housing market,” Ms Thiru said.
“Much of this benefit, however, maybe offset by the continuing difficulties many households face in raising a deposit and uncertainty over the outlook for the UK economy."
