According to the Halifax Key Worker review, the average house price was unaffordable for all five key worker occupations in 70 per cent of Britain’s towns, up from 65 per cent last year. This was a stark rise compared to five years ago, when only 36 per cent of towns had unaffordable housing.
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The two groups most affected were nurses and firefighters, for whom 99 per cent and 97 per cent of prices were deemed unaffordable.
Nurses were only able to afford prices in just seven towns across the UK, five of which were located in Scotland.
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In terms of location, the most expensive areas were in the 32 London boroughs and all 34 towns in the South West. The greatest relative deterioration in affordability was reported in the Cornish town of Truro, while the East Midlands towns of Buxton and Matlock followed.
Of the top 20 areas, 11 of the lowest priced towns were in Scotland. Lochgelly in Fife was deemed the most affordable town for key workers.
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Tim Crawford, group economist at Halifax, said: “Affordability is now clearly not a problem confined to the South of England.”
Nick Gardner, communications director at Chase De Vere, said: “Key workers should be at the top of the list for housing associations, but it’s no surprise that the lowest paid professions can’t afford to buy a property.”
