The average homeowner has boosted their earnings by more than a quarter over the last 10 years, according to research by Responsible Life.

Britain’s major urban areas have seen property prices rise by an average £63,444 in a decade on average — equivalent to 25.6% of average take-home pay over the same period.

Top of the class

Britain’s two most famous university cities have seen the biggest rise in prices relative to average wages.

Residents of Cambridge saw their gross income rise 21.6% to £40,222 between 2008 and 2018 while their average property price climbed 88.9% to £433,756.

This means average house price appreciation has amounted to an incredible bonus over 10 years of 74.3% of the average worker’s net income of £274,573.

In Oxford gross earnings rose 22.7% to £35,869 while the average property price climbed 66.9% to £406,491. This means average house price appreciation would have totalled 66.1% of the £246,709 the average worker earned there in a decade after tax.

Falling values

In Blackpool average incomes have risen 32.9% to £28,870 over 10 years, but property prices have actually fallen by 6.6%. As a proportion of their net salary of £197,347 over a decade, Blackpool homeowners actually lost 3.8%.

Of the 105 major UK towns and cities in the study, only properties in Blackpool and Middlesbrough have made a loss over the last 10 years, having failed to recover from the financial crash in 2008.

The eight authorities in England where house price appreciation represented the lowest proportion of earnings were all in the North, reflecting slower house price growth.

Steve Wilkie, managing director of Responsible Life, said: “Even in times of economic turmoil, Britain’s houses remain solid investments that stand the test of time. Britons make such substantial gains on their homes that, for many, it makes up for all the tax paid on their income.

“Bricks and mortar is treated as an investment by many when it comes to retirement planning and on this evidence that is unlikely to change.”