When the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II took place on 2nd June 1953 the average house cost just £1,692 and the average salary was £333.

Now, as His Majesty King Charles III celebrates his Coronation, it’s a very different picture. Over the past 70 years, average house prices have soared and to crown it all houses are now at their most unaffordable level for around 150 years. 

Leeds Building Society has looked at the housing market over the past 70 years and has highlighted the major events and policies which have contributed to the current housing issues the country now faces. 

– The average house price in 1953 stood at £1,692 with the average salary being £333. Over the past 70 years the housing market has been cyclical with either rapid house price increases or falls. The average house price now stands at £294,329 and the average salary is £31,928;

– Housing is now at its least affordable point for around 150 years. At 5.9 times, first time buyers currently have a higher average House Price to Earnings Ratio than ever before. This particularly impacts young people and their ability to get a foothold on the housing ladder. Rates of home ownership amongst 25-34 year olds have collapsed over the last 30 years;

– The greatest increases in house prices were felt during the 1980s (+262%) and over the last two decades (+341%). Over the last 70 years, the year which saw the greatest house price growth was in 1973, with an annual house price growth rate of +36%;

– In 1953 owner occupation levels were 31% and rose gradually before peaking in England in 2003 at 70.9%. They then fell steadily until the start of 2017 when the trend started to reverse. This reversal has now paused – with home ownership standing at 64%. The 1980s saw the biggest increase in owner occupation levels as a direct result of Margaret Thatcher’s Right to Buy legislation. As a result of this legislation, almost two million extra people became owner occupiers;

– It’s estimated that over the next 15 years the UK will require 5 million new homes – an average of 340,000 a year. This is greater than the Government’s 300,000 ‘target’ and has not been achieved since 1971. The average number of homes delivered each year over the last decade has been less than half of this figure.

Commenting on the research, Andrew Cook, senior economist at Leeds Building Society, says: “We can see that the dream of owning your own home remains as strong now as it did when Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1953. 

“Over the last 70 years the housing market has been through many ups and downs and although housing is currently at its most unaffordable levels for around 150 years, the market is still underpinned by strong fundamentals. 

“But the longer-term aim for the government should be to address the drastic shortage in housing. The issues facing homeownership are deep-rooted and wide-ranging but building enough homes to meet demand is the right place to start. 

“Achieving these targets will be difficult, and it will take all parts of the market to deliver this level of housebuilding, from private developers to housing associations and local government. 

“It is now the hardest time to afford a home since our founding year in 1875, a sad reflection of decades of inaction to tackle the UK’s housing crisis. But we will continue to find ways we can help and put homeownership within reach of more people, just as we have for almost 150 years. Fixing the homeownership crisis is challenging and often controversial, but with enough political will, a decades-old problem can surely be overcome and would start to deliver on the homeownership aspirations of millions of people.”