Grayling

But it includes a number.

Salaries are also irrelevant for those who do not need to work for an income.

KJCherokee

Grayling, I'm sure you are trying to make a point - I just have no idea what it is. There are always groups of people for whom the norms do not apply, but that doesn't make the norms irrelevant. For instance I own my house outright, but that doesn't mean that I ignore the plight of those who don't.

Grayling

My point is that the UK is more affordable if you look purely in cash terms and stop the obfuscation caused by exchange rates and relative salaries as these are subject to change as we have seen over the past few years

paulry

Using house price to average annual salary multiples serves as a useful relative value indicator - albeit at a high level.

KJCherokee

Graying, living as you do in Dystopia I can well believe that you keep all your assets as gold coins buried in the garden, but those of us who live in the real world usually do have to work for a living.

Grayling

Why give an answer like that

I also had to work for a living......now I don't.....this discussion is about house prices.

old.sparkles

I thought the discussion was about affordability, not prices, and as such for most people that will be about the relationship of what they earn and how much they will have to spend to buy a house. Obviously there will always be others that have savings, or other resources to buy, and then maybe the sole consideration is price alone (and suitable area)

Grayling

Well, if that is the case, it is also pointless to talk about salaries.
I would suggest that most house purchasers in the UK are on way above
'average' salaries given the number that still live in Council or Association houses

old.sparkles

So are you saying that to afford to buy in the UK you need to earn way above the average salary, and that if you are only earning an average wage in the UK you will be living in council / association / other rented accommodation?

Grayling

According to the Telegraph the average salary of a new homebuyer in the Uk now exceeds 40K GDP....can't post link as I am on ipad

Grayling

.....and that must be pretty much the same here which is why so many are renting

old.sparkles

So to be able to afford to buy in the UK, you need to be earning double the national average?

Grayling

So what figure do you need here?

old.sparkles

So then the UK is not much more affordable which was your original proposition?

Grayling

See post 103