House prices in national parks ‘cost nearly 12 times local earnings typically’

House prices in national parks across England and Wales are £121,383 more expensive on average than properties in surrounding counties, a report has found.

Lloyds Bank, which looked at 12 national parks, found the biggest price premium was in the New Forest, where homes typically cost £342,830 more than average house prices in the surrounding county.

The smallest premium was found in Snowdonia, where homes cost £4,374 more than those in the surrounding area on average.

Lloyds found the average cost of a home in a national park is 11.6 times local average gross annual earnings – compared with an average multiple of 7.8 times earnings across the whole of England and Wales generally.

Andrew Mason, mortgages director at Lloyds Bank, said: “National parks offer a unique opportunity to live in some of the most desirable parts of the country, and often come with strict rules designed to protect their beauty and heritage for many years to come.

“However, this comes at a cost to home buyers who will need to pay considerably more to put roots down in these locations.

“With such a significant gap between local earnings and property prices, people who want to live and work locally may face a considerable challenge to buy their own home.”

Lloyds Bank used Land Registry house price data and Office for National Statistics (ONS) earnings figures to make the findings.