Property accountants in Manchester have been told that the city’s housing stock is the 15th-most affordable in the country in real terms.
Figures published by Lloyds Bank show how the average property price in UK cities compares with the average earnings of local residents.
Dividing one by the other gives a price to earnings ratio or ‘PE ratio’, showing how many years’ salary it would take to buy a typical home outright.
Stirling in Scotland ranks as the most affordable overall at a PE ratio of just 3.30, with Londonderry (3.56), Newry (3.90) and Belfast (4.12), all in Northern Ireland, occupying the 2nd-4th positions.
Bradford ranks fifth with a PE ratio of 4.15, the most affordable English city on the list.
Manchester is down in 15th place at a PE ratio of 4.78 – slightly less affordable than local rival Liverpool (4.77).
But if affordability is a deciding factor in making a purchase, Manchester property accountants may encourage you to look north of the border – not the national border with Scotland, but the city border with Salford.
Crossing the bridge to Manchester’s northerly neighbour could shift you seven places up the affordability list, with Salford ranked eighth at a PE ratio of 4.45.
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