Full-time employees can expect to spend 7.8 times their annual earnings on buying a house in England and 5.9 times their income in Wales according to government figures.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) analysis of housing affordability showed that in 2020 average property prices increased by 2.9 per cent while earnings grew by 3.5 per cent.

Across the country, earnings grew faster than house prices in nearly 60 per cent of local authority districts, improving housing affordability.

London remained the most expensive area to buy a home, costing 9.75 times average annual earnings. The South East, East of England and South West all have income multiples in excess of six times earnings while the North East, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber and East Midlands require more than four times the average annual salary to buy a home.

In Wales, buyers would pay three times their annual earnings while those in the North West will need an income multiplier of 2.6 times earnings.

Kensington and Chelsea is the most expensive place to buy home, with buyers requiring 36 times their annual earnings to live in the exclusive borough while Copeland in the North West is the cheapest at 2.6 times earnings.

Nottingham is the area where housing affordability has worsened the most in the last five years rising from 4.33 to 5.16 times earnings between 2015 and 2020.