New research from Boon Brokers assessed how affordable homeownership is for a single NHS worker using a 95% loan-to-value (LTV) mortgage.

The research compared different NHS salary bands against the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) property data across major UK cities. The data revealed that homeownership for single NHS workers is becoming increasingly out of reach in many parts of the UK.

The research found that many NHS salary bands no longer meet the minimum mortgage affordability requirements needed to purchase the average first-time buyer property in several UK cities, even when applying a 95% loan-to-value mortgage and a 5.5x income multiplier model.

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Research Methodology

• NHS salary bands were based on the 2025/26 NHS Agenda for Change pay scales
• Net income estimates were calculated using standard UK tax, National Insurance and pension deductions
• Property prices were sourced using Office for National Statistics (ONS) housing data across major UK cities
• Flats and maisonettes were analysed as the lowest entry point onto the property ladder
• Average first-time buyer property prices were used to assess longer-term homeownership affordability
• Mortgage affordability was calculated using a 95% loan-to-value (LTV) mortgage model with a 5.5x salary multiplier
• Deposit saving timelines assumed annual savings equivalent to 10% of estimated net income following the ONS Households’ Saving Ratios
• All London calculations included the maximum NHS London weighting where applicable

Which UK Cities Are Most Affordable For NHS Workers?

The research found that Liverpool, Newcastle and Nottingham are among the UK’s most affordable cities for NHS homebuyers, with lower property prices allowing lower salary bands to qualify for a suitable mortgage using a 5.5x salary multiplier.

Liverpool and Newcastle were found to offer the strongest affordability outcomes in the research, with Band 2 NHS workers still able to access the earliest entry point onto the property ladder through flats and maisonettes using an NHS Mortgage. However, when comparing this to the average first-time buyer property price, homeownership only became accessible from Band 5 onwards.

By contrast, the data revealed that cities such as Manchester, Bristol and Edinburgh had substantially higher affordability thresholds, with mortgage borrowing shortfalls and deposit saving timelines increasing sharply compared to lower cost regional cities.

The findings outline that homeownership for single NHS workers is becoming increasingly dependent on location rather than salary progression alone.

As the data illustrates, in several UK cities the average first-time buyer home remains inaccessible below the NHS Band 6 or Band 7 salary thresholds. Despite potentially being able to save for a deposit over time, many NHS workers still remain unable to buy due to their salary falling below minimum mortgage affordability requirements. This would suggest that homeownership is becoming an unrealistic aim for early-career NHS workers.

Why Long-Term Homeownership Is Becoming Harder For NHS Workers

A standout finding from the research was the growing divide between the earliest entry point onto the property ladder and the average first-time buyer property price.

While flats and maisonettes remain the most accessible route into homeownership, the research uncovered that the average first-time buyer homes often required substantially higher NHS salary bands, larger deposits and significantly longer saving timelines.

While in cities such as Birmingham and Norwich, lower-band NHS workers could still access the earliest entry-level properties, the average first-time buyer property price only became accessible for NHS workers earning a Band 6 salary onwards.

Manchester, Bristol and Edinburgh showed some of the highest affordability thresholds across the research, with average first-time buyer homes only becoming accessible from NHS Band 7 or Band 8a salaries onwards. In Bristol, affordability remained inaccessible below NHS Band 8a, while both Manchester and Edinburgh required a minimum NHS Band 7 salary before long-term homeownership became achievable.

NHS Salaries Fail to Meet the Minimum Mortgage Requirements

The research also examined the differing timeframes that NHS workers face in order to be able to save a 5% deposit, based on the estimated annual savings (equivalent to 10% of their net income).

However, one of the most significant findings found that the actual time to save for a deposit – while still presenting a delay to homeownership – appears to be futile in the overall context of mortgage affordability.

In many UK cities, the majority of NHS salary bands failed to meet the minimum borrowing requirements needed to purchase an average first-time buyer property, even when applying a 5.5x mortgage salary multiplier.

As a result – regardless of the differing timescales that it would take different salary bands to save the minimum of a 5% deposit – many NHS workers would still remain unable to qualify for a mortgage based on the average first time buyer property in their area.

Using NHS Band 5 as a benchmark, representing one of the most common salary bands across the NHS workforce, the research compared exactly how far an NHS worker’s maximum mortgage borrowing power would stretch against the average first-time buyer property prices, across major UK cities.

The data revealed that Band 5 NHS workers remained substantially below the borrowing requirements needed to purchase an average first-time property in the majority of cities in the UK.

Band 5 salary based on 2026/27 NHS Agenda for Change pay scales using a 5.5x mortgage income multiplier. London calculations include maximum NHS London weighting where applicable.

NHS Salaries No Longer Match Property Prices In the UK

The data figures underline that the current NHS salary progression no longer aligns with rising property prices in several UK cities, finding that the average first-time buyer property prices are moving beyond what many NHS salary bands could borrow in practice.

While some lower-band NHS workers could still access the earliest entry point onto the property ladder through flats and maisonettes, average first-time buyer homes often remained inaccessible until NHS workers progressed into Band 6, Band 7 or Band 8a salary levels.

Manchester, Cardiff and Edinburgh all required a minimum NHS Band 7 salary before average first-time buyer property prices became affordable under the 95% LTV model. In Bristol, affordability did not become achievable until NHS Band 8a, highlighting the highest affordability thresholds recorded in the research.

Even cities with comparatively lower property prices, including Birmingham, Southampton and Norwich, all still required NHS workers to progress to a minimum Band 6 salary before being able to realistically afford average first-time buyer property prices as a single homeowner.

NHS Workers Face Decades Of Saving

Based on the ONS estimated annual savings (10% of net income), the research found that many NHS workers would require decades to save enough to bridge the gap between their maximum mortgage borrowing power and average first-time buyer property prices.

London and Bristol produced some of the longest affordability timelines, with lower-band NHS workers in London facing affordability gaps exceeding 100 years before average first-time buyer homes became affordable.

In Bristol, Band 5 NHS workers still face a 48-year wait to save while Cardiff and Southampton also produced significant affordability delays before average first-time buyer homes became accessible.

Estimated using annual savings equivalent to 10% of net income.

Conclusion

The research highlights the growing disconnect between NHS salaries and modern property prices across many UK cities, with homeownership increasingly shaped by geography, salary progression and prolonged saving timelines.

While some NHS workers may still be able to access the earliest entry points onto the property ladder through smaller flats and maisonettes, average first-time buyer homes often remained inaccessible without progression into significantly higher NHS salary bands.

The findings also showed that affordability barriers extended beyond mortgage lending alone. Borrowing shortfalls, decades-long affordability gaps and extended deposit saving timelines continued to delay homeownership even for higher-earning NHS workers in cities such as Bristol, Edinburgh and London.

Across several UK cities, the research suggests that average first-time buyer property costs are no longer keeping pace with NHS salary growth, leaving many workers facing increasingly unrealistic pathways towards long-term homeownership, despite full-time employment within the NHS.

 Download the Full Research – NHS First-Time Buyer Affordability Study 2026