Getting on the property ladder is often pitched as one of life’s biggest struggles, and it probably won’t surprise that many women to hear that it’s an even bigger struggle for them. Lopsided progress means that while bills and mortgages are now commonly split down the middle women, on average, have 18% less earnings to put in the pot.
Earlier research from ideal flatmate has already laid bare the disadvantages women face in the rental market. Now research from Stone Real Estate has revealed that the gender affordability gap for aspiring homeowners continues to widen, with the male affordability ratio currently at 12.2 across the UK, compared to 18.1 for female homebuyers.
Stone Real Estate looked at the current level of affordability for male and female home buyers based on an affordability ratio using house price deposit costs and salary and the gap between the two. Salary data for the area in which people live rather than work was used to compare like for like when it comes to house prices and purchasing power.
Affordability ratio = 10% deposit of the average house price divided by female/male salary
*The higher the score, the less affordable.
Affordability gap = The difference between the male and female affordability ratio
With the housing affordability ratio at 12.2 for male homebuyers and 18.1 for females, the current gap between each gender across the UK sits at 5.8, having increased from 5.5 over the last five years.
Founder and CEO of Stone Real Estate, Michael Stone, said: “Getting on the ladder is a tough ask in today’s market but it’s all the tougher if you happen to be female, with the issue of affordability exacerbated by the fact that the average salary is a fair bit lower than your male counterpart.
“Looking historically this gap has not only been maintained but has widened over the years and while there are a few indications that this could be starting to change, it will take a drastic turnaround to bridge the affordability gap both where salary and property purchasing power are concerned.”
By area
England is home to the lowest affordability ratio for both males (12.8) and females (19.1) of all UK nations and the country is also home to the largest gender affordability gap at present (6.3).
The region with the lowest affordability ratio score is the North East and it’s also home to the lowest affordability gap of all regions at 3.5, with just Northern Ireland seeing a lower gap outside of England.
London is predictably home to the highest affordability ratio, but the capital isn’t home to the largest gender affordability gap. The South East (8.5), the East of England (8.0) and the South West (7.5) all rank above London when it comes to the biggest gaps between male and female homebuyer affordability.
In the last five years, the East Midlands, South West and East of England have all seen the largest increase in the gender housing affordability gap, widening by 0.9 from 2014 until now.
The most affordable market for both male and female homebuyers when comparing local house prices to the salary earned by those living there is Hyndburn, with an affordability ratio of 4.6 and 6.5 for men and women respectively.
The least affordable is Harlow for male homebuyers with a ratio of 25.2, while for women it’s Kensington and Chelsea with an affordability ratio of 43.2.
Current Gender Affordability Ratio and Gap by Region
| Location | Average New Build Property Price | 10% Deposit Cost | Average Male Salary | Male Affordability Ratio | Average Female Salary | Female Affordability Ratio | Affordability Gap |
| United Kingdom | £296,343 | £29,634.29 | £2,422.28 | 12.2 | £1,639.54 | 18.1 | 5.8 |
| England | £316,789 | £31,678.92 | £2,467.95 | 12.8 | £1,656.48 | 19.1 | 6.3 |
| Wales | £226,290 | £22,629.01 | £2,081.60 | 10.9 | £1,500.37 | 15.1 | 4.2 |
| Scotland | £219,398 | £21,939.83 | £2,293.70 | 9.6 | £1,617.16 | 13.6 | 4.0 |
| Northern Ireland | £166,287 | £16,628.73 | £2,077.57 | 8.0 | £1,508.41 | 11.0 | 3.0 |
| South East | £390,282 | £39,028.15 | £2,751.68 | 14.2 | £1,720.01 | 22.7 | 8.5 |
| East | £375,371 | £37,537.06 | £2,571.59 | 14.6 | £1,661.07 | 22.6 | 8.0 |
| South West | £315,605 | £31,560.46 | £2,247.86 | 14.0 | £1,468.24 | 21.5 | 7.5 |
| London | £505,255 | £50,525.49 | £3,092.02 | 16.3 | £2,164.84 | 23.3 | 7.0 |
| East Midlands | £269,851 | £26,985.09 | £2,231.48 | 12.1 | £1,500.93 | 18.0 | 5.9 |
| West Midlands | £240,216 | £24,021.55 | £2,228.76 | 10.8 | £1,522.30 | 15.8 | 5.0 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £214,128 | £21,412.79 | £2,161.50 | 9.9 | £1,477.02 | 14.5 | 4.6 |
| North West | £230,297 | £23,029.72 | £2,206.49 | 10.4 | £1,550.29 | 14.9 | 4.4 |
| North East | £194,841 | £19,484.14 | £2,076.21 | 9.4 | £1,512.04 | 12.9 | 3.5 |
| *The table shows affordability ratio by gender based on the cost of a 10% deposit for a new build property in each region, divided by the average wage available in that region. | |||||||
Change in Gender Affordability Gap in the Last Five Years
| Location | 2014 | 2019 | Change |
| United Kingdom | 5.5 | 5.8 | 0.4 |
| England | 5.8 | 6.3 | 0.5 |
| Wales | 3.8 | 4.2 | 0.4 |
| Northern Ireland | 2.7 | 3.0 | 0.4 |
| Scotland | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| East | 7.1 | 8.0 | 0.9 |
| South West | 6.6 | 7.5 | 0.9 |
| East Midlands | 5.0 | 5.9 | 0.9 |
| South East | 7.8 | 8.5 | 0.7 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 4.1 | 4.6 | 0.5 |
| North West | 3.9 | 4.4 | 0.5 |
| London | 6.5 | 7.0 | 0.5 |
| West Midlands | 4.7 | 5.0 | 0.3 |
| North East | 4.0 | 3.5 | -0.5 |
| The table shows the gap between the male and female affordability ratio and the change over the last five years. | |||
Most and least affordable areas for male and female buyers
| Most affordable areas for male buyers | Least affordable areas for male buyers | |||
| Location | Affordability Ratio | Location | Affordability Ratio | |
| Hyndburn | 4.6 | Harlow | 25.2 | |
| North Ayrshire | 5.4 | Rochford | 23.7 | |
| Burnley | 5.6 | Cambridge | 23.6 | |
| Copeland | 6.6 | Three Rivers | 23.1 | |
| County Durham | 6.9 | Hackney | 22.3 | |
| East Ayrshire | 6.9 | Camden | 22.2 | |
| Wirral | 7.1 | South Hams | 21.2 | |
| Renfrewshire | 7.2 | Newham | 21.0 | |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 7.2 | Mole Valley | 20.3 | |
| North Lanarkshire | 7.3 | Cotswold | 20.2 | |
| Hartlepool | 7.4 | Epping Forest | 20.1 | |
| Barnsley | 7.4 | Redbridge | 20.0 | |
| Pendle | 7.4 | Gravesham | 19.9 | |
| Clackmannanshire | 7.4 | Broxbourne | 19.5 | |
| Inverclyde | 7.6 | Barking and Dagenham | 19.3 | |
| Most affordable areas for female buyers | Least affordable areas for female buyers | |||
| Location | Affordability Ratio | Location | Affordability Ratio | |
| Hyndburn | 6.5 | Kensington and Chelsea | 43.2 | |
| North Ayrshire | 7.6 | Gravesham | 37.9 | |
| Burnley | 7.9 | Rochford | 37.0 | |
| East Ayrshire | 8.9 | Harlow | 35.0 | |
| Copeland | 9.3 | Cotswold | 34.4 | |
| County Durham | 9.8 | City of London | 33.8 | |
| Renfrewshire | 9.8 | Mole Valley | 33.3 | |
| Inverclyde | 9.9 | Three Rivers | 33.0 | |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 9.9 | Chiltern | 32.7 | |
| Pendle | 10.0 | Elmbridge | 32.3 | |
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | 10.3 | Camden | 31.5 | |
| Wirral | 10.4 | Epping Forest | 31.3 | |
| Hartlepool | 10.4 | Broxbourne | 31.1 | |
| Blackpool | 10.5 | South Bucks | 31.0 | |
| North Lanarkshire | 10.5 | Guildford | 30.0 | |
