Homes in the city cost 8.5 times the annual earnings of the typical full-time worker, Nationwide says

Chichester is the least affordable area outside London for first-time buyers to get on the property ladder, with homes in the cathedral city costing an average of 8.5 times the annual earnings of the typical full-time worker in the area, according to figures from Nationwide.

The building society said there had been a “modest improvement” in affordability across Great Britain over the past year, as wage rises had outpaced house price growth, and mortgage costs had fallen slightly.