Kensington and Chelsea tops ONS list of least affordable areas
ONS data shows a house-price-to-income ratio of 20.6 in Kensington and Chelsea, ahead of Richmond upon Thames at 14.5 and Camden at 13.8.
Kensington and Chelsea is the least affordable area on the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) list, with a house-price-to-income ratio of 20.6. Richmond upon Thames, Camden, Westminster, and Hammersmith and Fulham follow it.
Average house prices in Kensington and Chelsea fell 13.8% over the last year, but the average price is still £1.2 million. Residents earn an average of £58,502 a year, so a buyer would need a mortgage more than 20 times that salary to buy an average property there.
Richmond upon Thames has a ratio of 14.5. The average property costs £814,000 and average annual earnings are £56,121.
Camden's ratio is 13.8, Westminster's is 13.4 and Hammersmith and Fulham's is 13.3.
Outside London, the Surrey borough of Elmbridge has a ratio of 12.7, with an average house price of £736,000 and average earnings of £57,962 a year. Mole Valley, also in Surrey, has a ratio of 12.6.
The ONS data covers the year to August.
