Yes you are right, I think I was referring to London, not UK (although 8.25 ratio for the UK is pretty bad given that it was around 4-5 not that long ago).

Average London salary: £44,000 Average London House: £531,000

There are many other UK-wide statistics pointing out to the jump in housing unaffordability (including rent) over the last 5 years.

Even if house prices is slightly more sane outside metropolitan, one needs to factor in how difficult it is to find jobs outside metropolitan areas, so the quantity of jobs outside expensive metropolitan areas need to be factored in, not just the average salary.

Totally agree - I live in a small (coastal) town where a there are very few jobs outside of service roles - and they are highly seasonal. Average salary for peole that work in the town must be around £20-25k and even cheap houses here are £200k - but often far far higher.

London is wild - I was lucky to buy a flat (£142k) when I was still young (2006) - which would have been 4.7 time my salary (though I bought with my wife). Even then, and with two good salaries, staying on in London with 2 kids wasn't really an option for us.

And as you say, this is replicated up and down the country in other major cities - people are just priced out or trapped in renting. No idea what my kids will do.