Wage rises in Sheffield outstrip growth in house prices

Salaries in the city rose by more than 18 per cent between 2007 and 2016, to £26,276, while house prices increased by just over seven per cent during this period - a difference of more than 11 per cent.

The calculations, carried out by estate agents Sheffield Residential using figures from the Office for National Statistics, suggest the fluctuations in Sheffield mirror those in most of the country.

A recent report by the Yorkshire Building Society found 54 per cent of the country had seen wages rise faster than property prices during the last decade.

However, Sheffield Residential's director Maz Iqbal says the picture is very different if you rewind another 10 years.

"Nationally, the affordability of property more than halved between 1997 and today. In 1997, house prices were on average 3.5 times workers' annual wages, whereas in 2016 workers could typically expect to spend around 7.7 times their annual wages on purchasing a home," he wrote on his blog.

With many people priced out of home ownership, he welcomed government proposals which he said would make renting more affordable, improve security for renters and see tougher penalties for dodgy landlords.

"This is all great news for Sheffield tenants and decent law-abiding Sheffield landlords (and indirectly owner occupier homeowners). Whatever has happened to salaries or property prices in Sheffield in the last 10 (or 20) years, the demand for decent high-quality rental property keeps growing," he wrote.