Winchester is now the UK’s least affordable city to buy a home, according to analysis from Halifax.

Homes in the Hampshire city are now 14 times annual earnings, the bank found.

This is compared to London where homes now set buyers back by more than 11 times average earnings.

The capital is outside the top five least affordable cities for the first time in six years, according to Halifax.

Oxford, the previous least affordable city, is now second in the list.

Buyers who are seeking a city home in the UK will now typically be set back by more than eight times their average earnings, compared to 5.6 a decade ago, the analysis revealed.

It follows a 10.3% surge in city house prices over the past year.

Average city house prices increased to £287,440, though comparable average earnings in these locations only went up by 2.1% annually, at £35,677.

Londonderry in Northern Ireland topped the list for most affordable UK city for the third year in a row, with homes at 4.7 times average earnings.

Carlisle and Bradford came in second and third respectively.

Cities still tend to be marginally more affordable than the UK as a whole, which has a house price-to-earnings ratio of 8.5.

This may partly be due to house prices pushed up outside cities as people sought more space during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seven cities managed to become more affordable compared to a year earlier: Oxford, Carlisle, Portsmouth, Durham, Salford, Inverness and Glasgow.

Carlisle and Aberdeen are now more affordable than five years ago, while Inverness is the only city found to be more affordable than 10 years ago.

An average home in Inverness costs 5.6 times average earnings – a dip from 6.2 in 2011 – as wage growth outstripped house price growth.

Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: “Affordability is significantly better in the north and there are now just two cities – Plymouth and Portsmouth – with better than average affordability in the south.”

The top 20 least affordable cities in 2021

Figures from Halifax show the price-to-earnings ratio followed by the average house price and average annual earnings

1. Winchester, South East, 14.0, £630,432, £45,059

2. Oxford, South East, 12.4, £486,928, £39,220

=3. Truro, South West, 12.1, £356,788, £29,558

=3. Bath, South West, 12.1, £476,470, £39,508

5. Chichester, South East, 10.6, £446,899, £37,352

6. Cambridge, East Anglia, 11.9, £482,300, £40,492

7. Brighton and Hove, South East, 11.6, £449,243, £38,737

8. London, South East, 11.0, £564,695, £51,257

=9. St Albans, South East, 10.2, £604,423, £59,391

=9. Chelmsford, South East, 10.2, £424,690, £41,781

11. Salisbury, South West, 10.0, £392,355, £39,154

12. Exeter, South West, 9.9, £323,554, £32,635

13. Leicester, East Midlands, 9.7, £279,080, £28,725

14. Norwich, East Anglia, 9.4, £306,946, £32,632

15. Bristol, South West, 9.3, £346,902, £37,357

=16. Southampton, South East, 9.0, £310,435, £34,429

=16. Canterbury, South East, 9.0, £365,168, £40,565

=16. Gloucester, South West, 9.0, £287,600, £31,987

19. Worcester, West Midlands, 8.8, £303,132, £34,389

20. Cardiff, Wales, 8.7, £276,851, £31,946

The top 20 most affordable cities in 2021

Figures from Halifax show the price-to-earnings ratio followed by the average house price and average annual earnings

1. Londonderry, Northern Ireland, 4.7, £155,917, £33,138

=2. Carlisle, North, 4.8, £163,232, £34,087

=2. Bradford, Yorkshire and the Humber, 4.8, £164,410, £34,219

=4. Stirling, Scotland, 5.4, £208,927, £38,744

=4. Aberdeen, Scotland, 5.4, £205,199, £38,016

=4. Glasgow, Scotland, 5.4, £196,625, £36,205

7. Perth, Scotland, 5.5, £203,229, £36,700

=8. Inverness, Scotland, 5.6, £191,840, £34,373

=8. Hull, Yorkshire and the Humber, 5.6, £156,424, £27,730

10. Dundee, Scotland, 5.8, £181,150, £31,344

11. Sunderland, North, 6.0, £179,567, £29,745

12. Lisburn, Northern Ireland, 6.1, £203,386, £33,138

=13. Salford, North West, 6.2, £211,903, £34,444

=13. Durham, North, 6.2, £196,274, £31,762

=13. Liverpool, North West, 6.2, £215,741, £34,911

=13. Belfast, Northern Ireland, 6.2, £205,228, £33,138

=13. Lancaster, North West, 6.2, £217,392, £35,004

18. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North, 6.3, £229,434, £36,212

19. Stoke-on-Trent, West Midlands, 6.5, £200,161, £30,698

20. Hereford, West Midlands, 6.6, £316,929, £48,048

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