‘Least affordable’ neighbourhoods in Birmingham
House prices up to 14 times wages in parts
HOMES in an exclusive area of Sutton Coldfield are the ‘least affordable’ in Birmingham. The Sutton Coldfield North and Park area has average house prices almost 14 times the average wage for the area.
The average house price is £500,000, – which is 13.7 times the average wage on the area of £36,612.
Birmingham as a whole has average house prices some 7.1 times higher than average incomes.
The North and Park district includes the whole of the coveted private Four Oaks Estate which is home to millionaires and footballers.
And the neighbourhood also includes the northern part of the town centre, including the High Street.
The Royal Town also has the second ‘least affordable area’ in the city when comparing average wages against the average cost of a home.
And it has four of the top 10 most expensive neighbourhoods to live in when looking at affordability.
Sitting behind Sutton Coldfield North and Park is its neighbour, Four Oaks proper. While perhaps not having the allure of the private estate, homes still fetch £380,000 on average and the area includes one of Birmingham’s top comprehensives, The Arthur Terry School.
It also has the relatively recent shopping and restaurant development, Mulberry Walk. Homes are 11.7 times the average wage for the area of £32,929.
Elsewhere in Sutton, Hill Hook, a continuation of Four Oaks is the sixth most expensive neighbourhood in Birmingham to live in based on average wages. The average wage of £37,587, is dwarfed by the average house price of £393,125, 10.5 times salaries.
Completing Sutton’s quartet of expensive neighbourhoods is Wylde Green, on the other side of the town. It has the highest average wages in the top 10 of some £41,703. But you’ll need it to afford the £438,497 average house prices, also 10.5 times higher than wages.
Meanwhile, homes in one Birmingham area in the ‘Central’ area, which includes parts of the city centre and Jewellery Quarter, are the most affordable in Birmingham.
They can be bought for just 3.5 times the average household income, with high incomes and lower house prices. There, the average net household income is an estimated £56,326 a year, and the median house price is just £194,500.
With homes across the country now almost twice as unaffordable as they were 20 years ago, the new analysis has revealed just how difficult homeownership can be in some areas.