What was the average Swansea house price in 1952? Is it dearer to buy a house now?
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What Was the Average Swansea House Price in 1952?
To start with, let me look at what a property is worth today in Swansea.
The average price paid for a property in the Swansea area in the last 12 months was £211,070.
Now, let's go back to 1952. Sir Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister, Newcastle won the FA Cup, London was covered in the Great Smog, free prescriptions on the NHS ended (it cost 1 shilling or 5p in new money), as for housing…
The average price of a Swansea home in 1952 was £1,723.
This means Swansea house prices are 121 times higher since 1952.
Yet over the last 70 years, the country has been subjected to 4.5% per annum inflation.
The 1952 Swansea home is equivalent to £33,143 today when adjusted for inflation.
This means Swansea house prices have increased by 504.8% in real terms since 1952.
So, does that mean house prices are more expensive today compared to 1952?
In 1952, the average annual male wage was £452, 8 shillings and 1 pence, meaning the average Swansea house was 3.81 times the average wage. Today the average home is 8.85 times the average wage.
Yet let us not forget the average mortgage payment in 1952 was £11 per month. The average wage was £34 per month, meaning 32.3% of the household income was going on mortgage payments, whilst nationally today, according to the Nationwide, it stands at 28%.
It's cheaper, in real terms, to buy a property in 2022 than in 1952.
And that’s the point, some things in ‘real terms’ (real terms being true spending power of the money after taking into account wages, costs and inflation) were more expensive and some cheaper 70 years ago. For example, in 1952, petrol was equivalent (in today’s inflation-adjusted prices) to £1.02 per litre, a pint of beer £2, half a dozen eggs £2.20,
cheddar cheese £2.40 per 500g, a basic radio £430, a Hoover £530 and a 12-inch TV £1,600.
So we’ve seen some amazing house price rises, yet that growth hasn’t always been in constant upwards direction as we have had a couple of dips along the way.
We had a house price crash in 1990, when the average value of a Swansea property dropped from £51,863 to £42,952 in 1996, only for them to start rising again.
Swansea saw another house price crash between 2008 and 2009, and the average house price dropped from £155,144 to £132,262 in a year.
So, what else has changed about property and housing in the last 70 years?
In 1952, only 32% of people owned their own home, whilst 50% of people rented from a private landlord and 18% rented a council house.
In 1977, 56% of people owned their own home, with 12% of people privately renting and 32% rented from the council.
By 2002, 70% of people owned their own home, with 11% of people privately renting and 19% rented from the council.
Today, 63% of people own their own home, 20% of people privately rent and 17% rent from the council.
So, to conclude, as we look forward into the 21st century, I am sure the property market will be totally different again in 70 years time.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article and do share it with your friends if you find it interesting.
PS the average Swansea terraced home in 1952 was worth £1,247, and a semi in Swansea could be bought for on average £1,502.