Rochdale homes more affordable than national average

Rochdale is one of the more affordable places to live in the country.

Latest figures from the GMB union show that the average price of a home in Rochdale, at £118,774, is 4.6 times the average full-time salary of £25,783.

But the national picture is bleak, with workers having to borrow 5.1 times their annual pay packet of £31,885 to secure enough for a property, with prices averaging at £161,883.

The situation is worse still in Trafford, with the £189,340 needed to secure an average home a whopping 5.4 times the £35,027 average pay packet of a full-time worker in the area.

Oldham is cheaper than Rochdale, with aspiring homeowners having to borrow a shade over four times their average earnings of £25,406 to secure the average house at £101,691.

But Blackburn and Darwen is a snip, with the average home of £89,803 just 3.6 times a normal salary of £25,016.

Paul McCarthy, the GMB regional secretary, said: “This new analysis shows that house prices in parts of the North-West have yet to fall towards the affordability range as they have done in parts of the region.”