The average annual mortgage repayment in Hertsmere is 84.4 per cent of the average resident’s net pay, according to analysis by cash house buyer Sell House Fast.
This places it only behind Elmbridge, Surrey, (96.4 per cent) nationally.
Meanwhile, Three Rivers comes in at number six with a 79.3 per cent figure and St Albans residents on average pay 78 per cent, despite its higher house prices, to place the area at number nine.
Although mortgage repayments are still steep in Watford and Dacorum compared to national data, residents are comfortably in a better position than all Watford’s neighbours on average.
Sell House Fast MD Jack Malnick said: “A mortgage should feel like a long-term investment, not a monthly source of stress.
“If your repayments are eating up more than 30 per cent of your income, that’s often a sign you’re overextended.”
The average Hertsmere resident takes home £33,881 in net pay but the average mortgage repayment is £28,590. In Three Rivers the figures are £36,969 and £29,317 respectively and in St Albans they stand at £41,778 and £32,587.