Chichester is least affordable city in South East, according to Survey

Chichester has been revealed as the least affordable city in the South East, according the a survey from Smart Survey, median house prices estimated at £475,000 and monthly earnings averaging £2,139. After paying their mortgage rate and basic bills of £402, two average-earning homeowners would have just £974 to spare for other expenses every month.

People in Southampton enjoy the best work-life balance of all city dwellers in the South East. Salaries are not the best here, but Southampton does have the most affordable homes (£260,000), second-lowest bills (£334.64) and the highest disposable income in the region.

Average homeowners living and working in Southampton can pay their monthly utilities and mortgage and still have £2,354.29 every month to cover any other household costs.

Oxford offers the biggest median earnings of all cities in the South East, averaging £2,551 a month. Winchester has the most expensive homes (£500,000) and basic monthly bills (£418.06) in the region. Bills for utilities in Portsmouth are the lowest of all South East cities, estimated at £331.47.

Chichester, Truro, Canterbury and Winchester, which are all cathedral cities, have been found to squeeze homeowners’ pockets the most after the report from the survey group. Property prices and bills are generally high here, whereas incomes lag far behind.

SmartSurvey CEO Mo Naser said: “If you have your heart set on living in a quaint cathedral city, you would most likely need to earn your paychecks elsewhere and commute for a quarter of a century to pay off your mortgage.