Inverclyde has been named the cheapest place in Britain to buy a home, with an average property price of £146,030, according to new research from Lloyds. The figure is around 3.5 times average annual earnings.
Scotland dominates the top 10
Six Scottish locations feature in Britain's 10 most affordable places to buy a home. Aberdeen follows Inverclyde with a house price-to-earnings ratio of 3.5 and an average price of £147,851. Dundee is next, with house prices at £152,072, which is 3.6 times average annual earnings.
Dumfries and Galloway follows with a ratio of 3.7, with houses costing £153,360. Angus and East Ayrshire both have a ratio of 3.9, with houses ranging from £160,928 to £162,459 respectively.
Scotland's affordability gap
Across Scotland, the average house price-to-earnings ratio was 5.3, remaining broadly unchanged from the previous year. However, there is a big difference between some areas. Inverclyde has the lowest ratio, while East Renfrewshire was named Scotland's least affordable area, with an average home costing £288,665, equivalent to 6.9 times average earnings.
That means the average property in East Renfrewshire costs more than £140,000 more than one in Inverclyde.
UK affordability improves
The research comes as housing affordability across Britain has improved to its best level in more than a decade. Lloyds found that the average UK home now costs around 7.3 times average earnings, down from 7.6 a year ago.
The bank said wages have risen faster than house prices over the past year, helping to narrow the gap between earnings and property prices. However, it warned that buying a home remains difficult for many households, with mortgage rates and saving for a deposit continuing to be major barriers.
Andrew Asaam, mortgages director at Lloyds, said: "Wages have continued to rise while house prices have remained relatively stable, helping to narrow the gap between earnings and house prices. However, affordability remains stretched for many households. Mortgage rates are higher than they were a year ago and saving for a deposit continues to be one of the biggest barriers facing first-time buyers."
The most affordable places in the UK are Inverclyde, Aberdeen, Kingston upon Hull, Blackpool, Dundee, Dumfries and Galloway, North East Lincolnshire, Angus, Middlesbrough, and East Ayrshire. No Scottish location made the least affordable list, which is led by Elmbridge, Kensington and Chelsea, and St Albans.
