Home buyers across Britain are now getting 41 per cent less living space for their money than they did a decade ago, according to new analysis, with the squeeze felt most acutely outside London. Manchester has suffered the sharpest decline, as rising prices mean the same £300,000 budget buys significantly smaller properties than in 2016, adding pressure to household finances even as mortgage rates climb again.

The research, by Post Office Life Insurance using Land Registry, Rightmove and energy performance certificate data, found buyers have lost 70 square metres per £300,000 spent since 2016 — equivalent to a two-bed bungalow. Manchester saw the biggest fall, down 58 per cent from around 200 to 84 square metres, followed by Birmingham (189 to 96 square metres), Leeds, Liverpool and Doncaster. London, by contrast, saw almost no change, with inner London down just 0.01 square metres and outer London 0.04 square metres. Post Office said buyers nationally now typically get 0.33 square metres of property per £1,000 spent, and warned that "cities once seen as affordable" now offer far less space for far more money.