Hertsmere named as third least affordable location to buy in

Based on 2022 figures, Hertsmere has taken third position behind Westminster and Camden.

The borough, which is home to several areas including Bushey and Radlett, has a salary to house price ratio of 16.492.

Bushey village is in Hertsmere (Image: Google Street View)

In Hertsmere the average house price is £529,794, just less than double the national average.

While the district’s average annual salary is just below the national average at £32,125.

Radlett is in Hertsmere too (Image: Google Street View)

The figures were revealed by PlumbNation who explored how much the average cost of housing and utilities has risen over the last decade.

They were able to uncover how much the gap between house prices and annual wages has increased in different parts of the country, to reveal the parts of the UK that are the least affordable for residents.

Camden takes the top spot, with average house prices coming in at 17.583 times that of the average annual salary.

Whilst local annual salaries are £15,305 higher than the national average, the average house price in the area is a whopping £856,416, making the prospect of buying in the area a distant one for local workers.

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Westminster has the second highest salary to price ratio in the country, with house prices sitting at 17.195 times the local average annual salary of £56,763.

Another central London borough, Westminster is home to the heart of the UK government and understandably has some of the highest property prices in the country, though this means the average house price stands at a huge £976,041 in the area.

By comparison, Burnley is the location with the most affordable housing in the UK, with a salary to price ratio of 4.083.

It has the cheapest average house price in the country at £114,100, while the average annual salary in 2022 was £27,945.

Waltham Forest has seen the biggest rise in house prices over the last decade, with an increase of 116.68%.

Sevenoaks is the UK location which has seen the biggest increase in its salary to price ratio in the last 10 years, meaning it is becoming less affordable the quickest.