Well, what a weekend that
was. Street parties, gatherings in the park, the purple bunting, egg and cress sandwiches,
union jack flags, cheese and pineapple on cocktail sticks, and let’s not forget
the trifle – the Platinum Jubilee Party. And no decent party is worth its salt
without a game or a quiz.
So, if you have
post-Jubilee blues, let me ask you, how much was the average Neath house worth
in 1952?
To start with, let me look
at what a property is worth today in Neath.
The average price paid for a property in the Neath area
in the last 12 months was £153,740.
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), and King George IV, at the age of 56 passed away
on the 6th February, meaning Princess Elizabeth became the Queen – as
for housing…
The average price of a Neath home in 1952 was £1,255.
This means Neath 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 Neath home is equivalent to £24,141 today
when adjusted for inflation.
This means Neath 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 Neath house
was 2.77 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 Brit earned £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 back to property, the
Queen’s reign has seen some amazing house price rises in the UK, 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 Neath property dropped from £37,776 to £31,286
in 1996, only for them to start rising again.
Neath saw another house
price crash between 2008 and 2009, and the average house price dropped from £113,004
to £96,338 in a year.
So, what else has changed
about property and housing since the Queen came onto the throne?
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.
By the time of the Silver
Jubilee in 1977, 56% of people owned their own home, with 12% of people
privately renting and 32% rented from the council.
Come the Golden Jubilee in
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.
I hope you enjoyed reading
this article and do share it with your friends if you find it interesting.
PS for all you Rightmove fans, the average Neath terraced home in 1952 was worth £925, and a semi in Neath could be bought for on average £1,215.
