You won’t believe the salary you need to buy an average-price flat in London

Do you earn enough?

Only a fraction of people can buy the average flat in the capital, as it’s been revealed you need to earn an astounding £140,000 a year to afford it.

The average London flat costs about £442,000, meaning Londoners need to earn five times the median UK salary to buy one and still make ends meet.

The figures from GoCompare show Londoners need to earn 10 times the salary of those from Blackburn to buy a flat. Blackburn, in the north west, is the cheapest city in the UK, where a salary £14,000 a year is enough to buy a flat.

The government has pledged to build 200,000 “starter homes” by 2020 which will be sold at 80% of market prices – however, charity Shelter said Londoners were likely to need a deposit of £98,000 to buy one in 2020.

Play with the interactive infographic.