Malvern one of the most expensive places to live in county - figures claim - The Malvern Observer

Malvern one of the most expensive places to live in county - figures claim

Malvern Editorial 21st Jul, 2014 Updated: 20th Oct, 2016   0

MALVERN is one of the most expensive places to live in the county despite paying some of the lowest wages, figures have shown.

Data from the National Housing Federation has revealed the district house price to salary ratio of 13.4 was higher than anywhere in the entire West Midlands.

On average houses cost £234,969 in Malvern – about £30,000 more than they do around the county – meaning residents would have to stump up a deposit of £46,994 for an 80 per cent mortgage despite people in the district typically earning about £17,581 a year.

The NHF has outed Malvern as one of the worst places in England for workers dubbed as POREs – Priced out of Rural England.




The organisation’s annual Home Truths Survey also revealed only Redditch had built fewer homes in Worcestershire and average rent costs of £145 a week were also above the county average.

But despite the unfavourable comparisons with neighbouring areas, figures also showed the district had the fewest people on the housing waiting list, fewest people classed as homeless and smallest increase in the amount of working people claiming housing benefits since 2009.


David Orr, chief executive at the National Housing Federation, said: “The traditional picture of the English countryside is fast becoming extinct. We know how difficult many under 40s are finding it to afford a home in towns and cities, but it’s becoming impossible for people to put down roots in our villages and market towns.

“The unaffordability crisis in rural areas is putting local shops pubs and schools at risk of closure and ageing populations are putting pressure on communities.

“These worsening problems would be solved if more affordable homes were built. We are not talking about concreting over the countryside. It’s not ruining the countryside to build ten high quality, affordable new homes in our villages and 50 in market towns.

“That’s all it would take across the land to end the rural housing crisis and help to solve the country’s housing crisis within a generation.”

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