New study maps the affordability gap between NHS salaries and first-time buyer property prices across major UK cities
Single NHS workers are increasingly priced out of the property market across much of the UK, according to research published by Boon Brokers, which assessed homeownership affordability using a 95% loan-to-value (LTV) mortgage model.
The study compared NHS salary bands against Office for National Statistics (ONS) property data for major UK cities, applying a 5.5 times income multiplier. It found that many salary bands fall short of the minimum affordability threshold required to secure a mortgage on an average first-time buyer property.
Liverpool and Newcastle emerged as the most accessible cities, where Band 2 NHS workers could reach the lowest rung of the property ladder — flats and maisonettes — via an NHS mortgage. However, access to average first-time buyer properties in those cities required a minimum Band 5 salary.
Manchester, Bristol and Edinburgh presented significantly higher affordability barriers. In Bristol, average first-time buyer homes remained inaccessible below a Band 8a salary — the highest threshold recorded in the study. Manchester, Cardiff and Edinburgh all required at least a Band 7 salary before average first-time buyer properties became attainable under the 95% LTV model.
Even cities with comparatively lower property prices, including Birmingham, Southampton and Norwich, required NHS workers to reach Band 6 before being able to afford average first-time buyer properties as single purchasers.
| Earliest Entry Point for NHS Salary Bands to Homeownership | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Average Property Price (Flats & Maisonette) |
Lowest Band Able To Afford | Average Property Price (First-Time Buyer) |
Lowest Band Able To Afford |
| Liverpool | £125,000 | Band 2 | £167,000 | Band 4 |
| Newcastle | £125,000 | Band 2 | £178,000 | Band 5 |
| Nottingham | £126,000 | Band 2 | £177,000 | Band 5 |
| Sheffield | £135,000 | Band 2 | £196,000 | Band 6 |
| Norwich | £142,000 | Band 2 | £203,000 | Band 6 |
| Birmingham | £145,000 | Band 3 | £211,000 | Band 6 |
| Leeds | £150,000 | Band 3 | £213,000 | Band 6 |
| Southampton | £151,000 | Band 3 | £208,000 | Band 6 |
| Cardiff | £160,000 | Band 4 | £233,000 | Band 6 |
| Glasgow | £155,000 | Band 4 | £166,000 | Band 4 |
| Belfast | £168,822 | Band 4 | £181,000 | Band 6 |
| Manchester | £192,000 | Band 6 | £233,000 | Band 7 |
| Edinburgh | £236,000 | Band 7 | £244,000 | Band 7 |
| Bristol | £240,000 | Band 7 | £309,000 | Band 8a |
| London | £420,000 | Unaffordable | £463,000 | Unaffordable |
| Source: Boon Brokers | ||||
The research also examined deposit saving timelines, based on estimated annual savings equivalent to 10% of net income. It found that saving for a 5% deposit, while achievable for some, did not resolve the underlying mortgage affordability problem for many salary bands. In several cities, NHS workers could accumulate a sufficient deposit yet still fail to qualify for a mortgage on an average first-time buyer property due to borrowing limits.
Using Band 5 — one of the most common pay grades across the NHS workforce — as a benchmark, the study found that workers at this level fell substantially short of the borrowing power required in most UK cities.
London produced some of the most acute findings. Lower-band workers in the capital faced projected affordability gaps extending beyond 100 years based on the 10%-of-net-income savings model. Bristol's Band 5 workers faced a 48-year wait, while Cardiff and Southampton also recorded significant delays.
"The research highlights the growing disconnect between NHS salaries and modern property prices across many UK cities, with homeownership increasingly shaped by geography, salary progression and prolonged saving timelines," said Gerard Boon (pictured right), managing director at Boon Brokers.
"While some NHS workers may still be able to access the earliest entry points onto the property ladder through smaller flats and maisonettes, average first-time buyer homes often remained inaccessible without progression into significantly higher NHS salary bands.
"The findings also showed that affordability barriers extended beyond mortgage lending alone. Borrowing shortfalls, decades-long affordability gaps and extended deposit saving timelines continued to delay homeownership even for higher-earning NHS workers in cities such as Bristol, Edinburgh and London.
"Across several UK cities, the research suggests that average first-time buyer property costs are no longer keeping pace with NHS salary growth, leaving many workers facing increasingly unrealistic pathways towards long-term homeownership, despite full-time employment within the NHS."
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