Lower middle-class households in the UK are increasingly finding themselves on the wrong side of the widening affordability gap, with 42 out of 47 cities in the UK now being unaffordable to those earning between two-thirds and twice the local median income.
The fact that these kind of conversations are swirling around the middle class is a concerning sign of rampant unaffordability across the UK. As prices continue to rise in the private sector, more and more pressure will fall on to social housing, in a situation which is seeing many full-time workers priced out of both renting and home ownership. This pressure then leads to the excessive use of temporary accommodation we see today, with the costs crippling local authorities up and down the country.
London, Reading, and Cambridge show the highest affordability limits, exceeding £600,000 for upper earners. Incidentally, the latest figures show that employees in London have the highest median weekly pay in the UK. In contrast, cities such as Bolton, Durham, and Southend-on-Sea show far lower affordability thresholds. A report published in 2024 revealed that other areas in this bracket, such as Exeter and Middlesbrough, were found to have the lowest wages in the UK.
The figures, from Morta UK, underscore a widening divide in purchasing power between income brackets, and that location also determines access to homeownership for the middle class.
READ MORE: NHF research shows associations eager to jump aboard AI wave – Housing Executive
A Shrinking Middle-Class Housing Market
Morta’s analysis reveals that both lower- and upper-middle-income households face significant affordability constraints, though the lower middle class is hit the hardest.
Lower middle earners are priced out of homeownership in 42 out of 47 cities, with the widest affordability gaps found in London and Oxford. Even high-earning middle-class buyers struggle in 17 areas, including some of London’s most desirable boroughs, where property prices exceed their financial reach.
These results indicate that income growth is failing to keep pace with the rising costs of housing. Owning a home may just remain a dream for many middle-income families as the divide between lower and upper earners continues to widen.
Troubling signs such as this are concerning symptoms of the surging housing crisis, and as the affordability gap continues to widen, more families and individuals will turn to a depleted social housing system for support, when waiting lists in some cities have risen to more than 100 years.
