With the current national property market being in recovery, and house prices increasing, a landlord came in to our office to discuss the affordability of property in Haywards Heath.
The most effective measure for assessing affordability is to use the Price to Earnings ratio, which you can calculate by dividing the average current value of property in the area, by the average annual household income. The lower the ratio, the more affordable the property is.
When we put this to the test, we found that Haywards Heath currently has an average property value of around £281,400 with the average salary being £28,965. This is a respectable ratio of 1 to 9.7. We also had a look at Burgess Hill, which had similar but slightly higher affordability ratios of 9.95.
Meanwhile, in Cuckfield the ratio of property values to salary is 1 to 13.7 which suggests property here is 41% less affordable than in Haywards Heath. And in Hassocks, where the average salary is £30,148 and the average property price is £365,500, the ratio of 1 to 12.12 makes investing here less attractive, with property being 24% less affordable.
This could mean that now is a great time to invest in Haywards Heath’s property market, while the average value of property is still low compared to the average salary.
If you would like to talk to us about a potential investment, drop in to our office at 132 South Road for some free advice.
