A recent report highlights Stoke-on-Trent as a top affordable city for home buyers. Despite challenges, the housing market shows surprising resilience in 2024.

Even with ongoing affordability issues, the market is surprisingly resilient. Many first-time buyers are still facing challenges, especially with high mortgage payments.
Andrew Harvey, a senior economist at Nationwide, noted that while affordability has improved slightly, it’s still tough. For an average buyer, mortgage payments can take up a big chunk of their income.
In fact, a typical first-time buyer might spend about 36% of their take-home pay on a mortgage. That’s way above the long-term average of 30%. The struggle to save for a deposit is real, especially with rising rents and living costs.
The report also found that many first-time buyers are getting help from family or friends to raise a deposit. Despite these hurdles, the housing market is showing signs of life.
In 2024, house prices grew by 4.7%, which is a nice bounce back from earlier declines. Mortgage approvals are back to 2019 levels, even with higher rates.
Interestingly, first-time buyers made up a larger share of the market than before the pandemic. The report also looked at how different jobs affect mortgage payments.
Those in higher-paying jobs tend to have lower mortgage costs relative to their income. For example, managers might spend about 25.6% of their pay on a mortgage, while those in customer service could spend over 51%.
So, while Stoke-on-Trent is a great place for affordable housing, the journey to homeownership still has its bumps. But with the economy expected to improve, things might get easier for buyers down the road.