New research has identified the areas in England where it is easiest to get onto the property ladder with just one salary, and the most affordable is Burnley in the North West.
In Burnley, the median pay is £29,680 and the average house price is £129,556, which necessitates a 10% deposit of £12,956. This leaves buyers with a mortgage of £116,600.
Other affordable locations
In second place is Hartlepool, where the typical house costs £129,129, requiring a salary of at least £28,830. With a 10% deposit of £12,913, the mortgage would be £116,216.
Next in the study, from Sell House Fast, comes Middlesbrough, where the average salary is £30,253 and a home typically costs £139,005. A 10% deposit there would be £13,901, giving a mortgage of £125,105.
County Durham, Hull, and Blackpool also featured on the list, with average home costs of £138,767, £135,051 and £134,732 respectively. Hyndburn also appeared, with an average salary of £29,647 and average house price of £139,800.
Solo buying on the rise
Elsewhere, new statistics find it is actually more common to buy your first home solo in 2026 than it was pre-1980. The insight, commissioned by Barclays, finds single first-time buyers are now more than twice as prevalent, which the bank attributes towards changing lifestyles and a stronger desire for financial independence.
A mere 15% of people who bought their first home before 1980 say they achieved it by themselves, and 83% of this generation of homeowners got on the ladder for the first time with a partner. However, between 2020 and 2026, this figure has dropped to 54%, while in June, more than one third of completions (36.9%) were made by solo buyers.
Gender gap in homeownership
Statistically, single women are the least likely cohort to be able to afford a home, largely owing to the gender pay gap. One previous study published by the Women’s Budget Group found women need more than 12 times their annual salaries to be able to buy a home in England, but men need just over eight times.
The situation worsens in both London and the South East, as women need to earn anywhere between 18 times and 16 times their paycheck just to gain mortgaged access to their own four walls. Research published by SpareRoom in 2026 found women are more likely to be rent-burdened than men, with 79% spending more than 30% of their monthly paycheck on rent, compared to 69%. A further 71% of women expect they won’t be in a position to buy a home in the future, mainly because they don’t earn enough to get a mortgage.
