With house prices falling and mortgage rates starting to tumble, some first-time buyers may be thinking seriously about getting their foot on the property ladder. But which areas are most affordable, and where will you see your money stretch the furthest?
Research by comparison site Compare My Move has crunched the numbers to find out the most affordable housing regions in the UK, by looking at average salaries for each region, the cost of a 10% deposit for the average house, and how many years it would take to save that deposit.
The north-east has the cheapest average property price, according to Rightmove’s November house price index, at £181,829. But this doesn’t mean it is therefore the most affordable part of the country.
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Conversely, salaries in London are high, but that doesn’t mean property in the capital is particularly affordable.
We look at which regions are the most affordable - and which are the least affordable.
Most affordable housing regions
The Compare My Move data looks at the average percentage of income saved by the British public - 8.21% - and the time it would take to save a 10% deposit on an average salary for a typical home.
In terms of a UK average, it calculates that a Brit on the average UK salary buying a property with the average UK price would spend 11 years and four months saving up for a deposit.
It then looks at different areas, taking account of average regional salaries, and regional house prices.
Scotland takes the crown as the most affordable region, with the average Scot taking six years to save up and put a 10% deposit down on the average house.
The average salary in Scotland is £35,515 while the average property price is £185,766.
The north-east comes second, at seven years. The average salary is £31,200 while the average house costs £181,829.
Yorkshire and the Humber takes third place, at nine years. In fact, the top four slots are all northern regions, with Wales coming fifth.
| Region | Average 10% house deposit (£) | Average monthly savings (£) | Months to save 10% deposit | Years to save 10% deposit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 18,577 | 243.00 | 76 | 6 |
| North East | 18,183 | 213.46 | 85 | 7 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 24,237 | 218.39 | 111 | 9 |
| North West | 25,511 | 226.02 | 113 | 9 |
| Wales | 25,419 | 221.47 | 115 | 10 |
| West Midlands | 28,320 | 225.80 | 125 | 10 |
| East Midlands | 28,112 | 216.43 | 130 | 11 |
| South West | 37,679 | 228.85 | 165 | 14 |
| East | 41,387 | 238.32 | 174 | 14 |
| South East | 47,214 | 250.13 | 189 | 16 |
| London | 67,326 | 303.56 | 222 | 18 |
| UK average | 32,906 | 235.04 | 137 | 11 |
Least affordable housing regions
London is the least affordable housing region in the UK. If you are on the average London salary (£44,370), it would take a staggering 18 years to put a 10% deposit down on the average London house - triple the amount of time it would take in Scotland.
The capital has the highest average house price in the UK (£673,257), which is more than double the UK average, and over £200,000 more than the second-most expensive region, the south-east.
However, the annual salary in London isn’t seeing the same rise over the UK average that the house prices are. Compare My Move says that while house prices in London are 104.6% more than the UK average, the average annual salary in London is only 29.2% more than the UK average, which affects the affordability of the city.
The regions surrounding London are also toward the bottom of the table, with the south-east and east taking the average person 16 years and 14 years respectively to save for a 10% deposit on the average house.
If you’re a landlord looking for the most profitable parts of the country, have a look at Most profitable areas for buy-to-let.
