UK homebuyers face worst mortgage affordability since 2008, data shows

UK homebuyers are facing the worst mortgage affordability pressures for almost two decades, although the “pain” is not being felt equally across the country, according to industry data. The banking body UK Finance said that at a nationwide level, initial mortgage repayments were typically swallowing up more than a fifth (21.3%) of a homebuyer’s gross income – the highest level since 2008. The data relates to 2025, so it does not take into account the economic turmoil unleashed by the Iran war, which has helped push up the cost of mortgage deals and means that many people taking out a mortgage face paying hundreds or even thousands of pounds more than before the conflict. The headline figure also masked significant regional differences, said the banking body. The “least affordable” areas, based on mortgage repayments as a percentage of income, were north Norfolk and the west London borough of Hillingdon. Homebuyers there typically spent more than a quarter of their gross income on repayments (25.7% and 25.1%, respectively). The remaining eight of the 10 least affordable places were in what could broadly be described as the London commuter belt – for example, Luton in Bedfordshire (24.9%), Slough in Berkshire (24.8%), Broxbourne in Hertfordshire (24.4%) and Harlow in Essex (24.2%). % of gross income spent on mortgage repayments in 2025, selected local authorities At the other end of the scale, seven of the 10 most affordable local authority areas were in Scotland. …