Average house prices in Scotland are 5.1 times typical earnings

House prices continue to rocket, with a typical Scottish home now costing more than five times average earnings.

Research from mortgage lender Halifax found a typical Scottish home is 5.1 times average earnings across the first quarter of this year.

However, in Inverclyde in the west of Scotland, house prices were 3.1 times average earnings – making it the most affordable place to buy a home in the study.

Across the UK as a whole a home is 7.1 times average earnings.

Estate agents boards, as house prices continue to rocket. Picture: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

But house prices in the North East of England are also more affordable than they were in 2007, when the ratio was 5.8.

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, house prices have risen by 16.8 per cent from £239,281, with earnings rising by 2.7 per cent from £38,374.

In the first quarter of 2022, the cost of an average home in the UK was £279,431, while annual average earnings of a full-time worker were estimated to be £39,402.

London was found to be the most expensive place to buy a home, with an average property price of £534,977 and house price to earnings ratio of 9.7.

Westminster and the City of London, however, witnessed the sharpest improvement in the house price to earnings ratio since the start of the pandemic, with a drop from 16.8 in early 2020 to 14.5 in 2022.

This is a sign of increasing buyer demand for larger properties in less urban locations, Halifax suggested.

On the other hand, the North East of England was ranked as the most affordable region for home buyers, with an average house price of £162,692 and house price to income ratio of 4.6.

Westminster and the City of London were identified as the least affordable areas to buy a home, despite the recent improvement in affordability.

Despite the rising cost of housing, market activity suggests that many are still considering a move, which could be due to joint applicants being able to make use of two salaries.

The research also discovered the average age of a first-time buyer is 32 – three years older than a decade ago – and that many in this category will be joint applicants who have two wages to support housing costs, which may include funds from the “bank of mum and dad”.

Andrew Asaam, mortgages director at Halifax, said: “With interest rates on the rise as a means of combating inflation, it’s unlikely that house prices will continue to grow at the pace we’ve seen recently.

“This should see the gap between average earnings and property prices over time.”

The Bank of England base rate stands at 1.25 per cent – the highest since January 2009.

The research was based on data from the Halifax house price index, which compared typical house prices to average earnings across the UK.