The mortgage lender has carried out detailed analysis using house prices and earnings data to calculate the areas of the UK which are the least and most affordable. Analysts have also uncovered the districts where affordability has improved the most.
Andrew Harvey, a senior economist for Nationwide, said: “Our recent Affordability Report identified that affordability was becoming more stretched across all regions. However, there is also considerable variation within those regions and in this special report we explore this further.
“We’ve updated our local affordability metrics, which use house price and earnings data from the Land Registry & Office for National Statistics (ONS) to give the most comprehensive view at a local level.”
Whilst it will come as no surprise areas such as Kensington and Chelsea in London, Oxford, the Cotswolds and Edinburgh were the least affordable areas, would-be buyers may be keen to learn the locations in which prices were more within their grasp.
Here is the list in full:
Most affordable local authorities (source: Nationwide)
Govt Office Region Local Authority
Scotland East Ayrshire
North West Copeland
North East County Durham
Wales Merthyr Tydfil
Yorkshire Barnsley
West Midlands Stoke-on-Trent
East Midlands Bolsover
East of England Great Yarmouth
South West Swindon
South East Southampton
London Bromley
East Ayrshire, in Scotland has emerged as the most affordable authority in Great Britain, with average first-time buyer house prices just 2.4 times average earnings.
East Ayrshire covers a large geographic area to the south of Glasgow, but its main towns are Kilmarnock and Cumnock.
The areas with the greatest improvement in affordability included the London borough of Westminster, where the first-time buyer house price to earnings ratio fell by 3.8 points between 2016 and 2021.
Cambridge, Reading, Aberdeen City, Middlesbrough and Swindon also showed improved affordability.
Andrew explained the change in Westminster was driven by a combination of lower prices (13% lower than five years ago) and higher earnings (up 10% compared with 2016).
“While it is still one of the less affordable areas in the East of England, Cambridge has seen a marked improvement in affordability over the last five years, as earnings growth in the city has outpaced house price growth over this period,” he added.
“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 2016, while first-time buyer house price earnings ratios have risen in 72% of authorities, with the balance unchanged.”
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