One in Nine Cheltenham Homes Sold in 2025 Was Within Reach of a Typical Earner

Analysis of Land Registry sales and ONS earnings shows 11.4% of Cheltenham home sales in 2025 were within 4.5 times median pay, double the 2018 low and level with 2008, but only flats are realistically affordable.

Just one in nine homes sold in Cheltenham in 2025 went for a price a typical full-time earner could afford, according to Cheltenham Open Data’s analysis of Land Registry sales and official earnings figures. That is double the share at its 2018 low and level with 2008, but the recovery is almost entirely down to flats.

Of the 3,281 homes sold in Cheltenham in 2025, 374 (11.4%) sold for £186,296 or less. That is 4.5 times the £41,399 median full-time pay of people who live in the borough, and roughly the most a lender will usually offer one borrower. The full year-by-year figures are on the new home affordability page.

Key Figures

  • 11.4% of 2025 sales were within 4.5 times median pay, about 1 in 9.
  • 5.6% in 2018, the lowest since the figures begin in 2008, about 1 in 18.
  • 11.6% in 2008, and 13.8% in 2009, the highest.
  • Median pay is up 39% since 2018 (£29,861 to £41,399), while the median sale price is up 18% (£289,000 to £340,000).
  • Since 2008, median pay is up 53% and the median sale price 70%.

By Type of Home

  • Flats: 42.6% of flat sales in 2025 were within reach (299 of 702), up from 20.9% in 2018 and 29.6% in 2008.
  • Terraced homes: 6.6% (54 of 821), up from 2.9% in 2018 but below 10.0% in 2008.
  • Semi-detached homes: 2.1% (20 of 970).
  • Detached homes: 0.1%, a single sale out of 788.

A typical earner buying alone has a realistic choice of flats and very little else. Pay growth since 2018 has outpaced prices, so more homes have come into reach, but the mix has moved towards flats: terraced homes were more affordable in 2008 than they are now.

Notes to Editors

  • Method: The share of residential sales with a price no more than 4.5 times the median gross annual full-time pay of Cheltenham residents in the same year. Sales cover Cheltenham town in the GL50 to GL54 postcodes and exclude the Land Registry’s “other” property type.
  • Sources: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, and the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (residence-based median) via Nomis. Both are published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  • Cross-check: The ONS’s own lower-quartile house price to earnings ratio for Cheltenham fell from a peak of 9.8 in 2021 to 7.8 in 2025, pointing the same way.
  • Caveats: The figures assume a single income and take no account of deposits, other debts or mortgage rates. They cover full-time earners only. Earnings are a survey estimate taken in April, so a large move in one year’s figure feeds straight into that year’s price limit. The mix of homes that sell also changes from year to year, so the trend matters more than any single year.
  • Data and updates: The page is refreshed monthly and adds each year once it has finished and its earnings figure is published. For questions or interviews, use the contact page.

FAQs

What Does the Affordability Page Show?

  • The share of homes sold in Cheltenham each year since 2008 that were within 4.5 times median full-time pay, for all homes and by property type, as a chart and a table.

Where Does the Data Come From?

  • HM Land Registry Price Paid Data for the sales, and the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings for pay. Both are published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Does It Allow for a Deposit?

  • No. It uses one typical income and a simple 4.5 times limit, so it is a guide to how much of the market is in reach, not a mortgage calculation.

Why Are Flats So Different From Houses?

  • Flats sell for far less than houses in Cheltenham, so a much larger share of them fall under the price limit, while almost no detached homes do.