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How many years of salary to buy a house in Reading?

Buying an average home in Reading (South East) takes about 7.5 years of full-time salary: the average house price of £345,112 (HM Land Registry UKHPI, April 2026) divided by median full-time earnings of £45,843 a year (ONS ASHE 2024). That is less affordable than the UK average ratio of 7.2.

Price-to-earnings ratio
7.5×
years of gross salary
Average house price
£345,112
UKHPI
Median full-time salary
£45,843
ASHE 2024
10% deposit
£34,511
15% deposit
£51,767
Loan multiple (10% down)
6.8×
lenders cap ~4.5×

How this is measured. This ratio divides the UKHPI average (mean) house price by ASHE full-time median individual earnings. The ONS official “Housing affordability” statistic uses median price ÷ median earnings, so the two are close but not identical. All three inputs are official, open-licensed figures — none are estimated.

Similar areas by affordability

See also: rent vs buy in Reading · full house prices in Reading

Frequently asked questions

How many years of salary does it take to buy a house in Reading?
In Reading the average home costs £345,112 (HM Land Registry UKHPI, April 2026) against full-time median earnings of £45,843 a year (ONS ASHE 2024). That is a house-price-to-earnings ratio of 7.5 — it would take about 7.5 years of gross salary to equal the average house price.
What deposit do you need to buy in Reading?
A 10% deposit on the £345,112 average Reading home is £34,511, and a 15% deposit is £51,767 (based on HM Land Registry UKHPI, April 2026).
Is buying in Reading more or less affordable than the UK average?
Reading's house-price-to-earnings ratio is 7.5, versus 7.2 for the UK as a whole — so buying here is less affordable than the UK average.
How big a mortgage would you need to buy in Reading?
After a 10% deposit you would need to borrow £310,601 on the average Reading home — about 6.8× the £45,843 full-time median salary. Most UK lenders cap mortgages around 4.5× income.

Sources: house price — HM Land Registry — UK House Price Index (UKHPI) (April 2026); earnings — ONS — Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) 2024. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. ASHE and UKHPI are published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.