§ Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bayasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the ratio of the average price of a dwelling to average annual earnings for each of the nations and regions of the United Kingdom and for the United Kingdom as a whole, in (a) 1984; (b) 1993; (c) 1997; and (d) 2003. [HL4680]
§ The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker)The ratios of average dwelling price to average earnings by Government Office Region are tabled below. Figures for Northern Ireland are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
1984 1993 1997 2003 England 3.65 3.96 4.11 6.38 Wales 3.09 3.65 3.51 4.72 Scotland 3.20 3.81 3.75 3.95 Government Office Regions North East e2.94 3.45 3.31 4.44 North West e3.11 3.56 3.50 4.67 Yorkshire and the Humber 2.93 3.69 3.53 4.72 East Midlands 3.21 3.66 3.61 5.83 West Midlands 3.25 3.93 3.95 5.72 East e4.30 4.14 4.46 7.13 London 4.05 3.90 4.31 6.84 South East e4.20 4.53 4.93 7.84 South West 4.02 3.96 4.20 7.26 e the earnings figures used in the derivation of these ratios are approximations, see below. DATA SOURCES:
1. House prices
The data for 1984 are calculated as simple averages derived from the 5 per cent sample survey of Building Societies Mortgages (BSM).
The data for 1993 and 1997 are calculated as mix-adjusted averages derived from the 5 per cent sample survey of all mortgage lenders (the Survey of Mortgage Lenders, (SML)), except for the North-West. At the time, the North-West and Merseyside were separate Government Office Regions and the mix-adjusted averages were calculated on this basis. We are only able to produce simple averages for a combined North West and Merseyside region for 1993 and 1997.
The data for 2003 are calculated as mix-adjusted averages derived from a significantly enhanced sample of all mortgage lenders (SML) for all countries and regions.
2. Average earnings
These were based on data from the New Earnings Survey, an annual survey run by the Office for National Statistics. However, 1984 figures are available only by standard statistical region (SSR)—as 69WA opposed to Government Office Region (GOR). Consequently the 1984 earnings for some of the GORs were estimated on the following basis:
- North East: figures for the SSR of "North" were used.
- GOR North East = SSR North less Cumbria
- North West: figures for the SSR of "North West" were used.
- GOR North West = SSR North West plus Cumbria
- East: figures for the SSR of "East Anglia" were used.
- GOR East = SSR East Anglia plus Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex
- South East: figures for the SSR of "South East" were used.
- GOR South East = SSR South East less Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex