East Ayrshire named most affordable area in Britain for first-time buyers

East Ayrshire is the most affordable place in Britain for people trying to get on the property ladder, according to new research.

Nationwide Building Society measured by the typical first-time buyer house price to earnings ratios in local areas across Britain, using Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.

In the affluent London areas Kensington and Chelsea, the typical house price is 16.8 times earnings, the report found.

In Edinburgh the typical house price is 5.4 times earnings.

At the other end of the spectrum, East Ayrshire in Scotland has average first-time buyer house prices at 2.3 times typical earnings.

East Ayrshire covers a large area to the south of Glasgow, with Kilmarnock and Cumnock being its main towns.

Meanwhile, Aberdeen has seen the greatest improvement in affordability.

Andrew Harvey, senior economist at Nationwide, said: “In Wales and Scotland, the respective capital cities see strong demand for housing and have the highest house price to earnings ratios.”

Knockroon, an eco-village located between Cumnock and Auchinleck. Picture: John Devlin

Looking at the areas which have seen the biggest improvements in affordability between 2015 and 2020, Mr Harvey said: “The London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham has seen the biggest improvement in affordability over the period, with the average first-time buyer house price to earnings ratio falling from 15.6 to 11.5.

“This was driven by a combination of lower prices (12% lower than five years ago) and higher earnings (up 17% compared with 2015).

“In Scotland, the city of Aberdeen has seen the greatest improvement in affordability, with average first-time buyer house price to earnings ratio declining from 4.7 to 3.2 in the last five years. This is predominantly due to the 28% fall in average prices over the period, though incomes have also risen by 7%.

“In the South West, the district of Torridge in north Devon has seen its house price to earnings ratio improve from 6.2 to 5.3.

“This appears to be due to strong growth in earnings over the period, which were 32% higher compared with 2015.

“Affordability gains in other regions have been more modest. Overall, 25% of local authorities in Great Britain have seen an improvement in affordability compared with 2015.”

Here are the least affordable areas of each region or nation in Britain, followed by the average first-time buyer house price to earnings ratio, according to Nationwide:

– London, Kensington and Chelsea, 16.8

– East of England, Hertsmere, 9.6

– South East, Oxford, 9.2

– South West, Bath and North East Somerset, 8.1

– East Midlands, Rutland, 6.6

– Yorkshire, Ryedale, 6.5

– West Midlands, Redditch, 6.3

– North West, South Lakeland, 6.3

– Wales, Cardiff, 5.9

– Scotland, City of Edinburgh, 5.4

And here are the most affordable areas in each nation or region:

– Scotland, East Ayrshire, 2.3

– North West, Copeland, 2.5

– North East, County Durham, 2.7

– Wales, Merthyr Tydfil, 3.2

– West Midlands, Stoke-on-Trent, 3.2

– Yorkshire and the Humber, North East Lincolnshire, 3.3

– East Midlands, Bolsover, 3.7

– East of England, Great Yarmouth, 4.5

– South West, Swindon, 5.1

– South East, Dover, 5.5

– London, Bromley, 6.7

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