Which? reveals the most affordable areas for first-time buyers

Full-time workers could now secure eight times their annual salary when buying a new house, experts say.

This data (obtained by the ONS) clearly highlights the decline in housing affordability during the past five years, which has seen many people "priced out" of the area they currently work.

So, as house prices continue to overwhelm wages, do first-time buyers have any hope of getting on the property ladder? Many would argue no, especially when the UK's most expensive areas—London, in particular—have seen house prices rocket almost forty times the local income.

But what about the more affordable areas?

Compiling data by the ONS and the Land Registry, Which? have revealed the most affordable areas to live across England and Wales.

As many would expect, the most affordable housing areas were focused across Wales and the North West of England. Copeland, located in western Cumbria, came in at number one with an average house price of £128,000. This is only 2.71 times the average local salary of £47,221.

Second place saw Welsh county borough Blaenau Gwent. With an average house price of £82,000 and salary of £24,486, buyers would only spend 3.35 times their average income.

In third place was Barrow-in-Furness, yet another borough in Cumbria. It boasted an average house price of £118,500, equating just 3.69 times the average salary of £32,083.

But what about first-time buyer house prices in these locations?

Figures from Which? revealed the average first-time house price in Copeland was £104,900, just 2.22 times the average local salary. Compare this to Kensington—the most expensive area for first-time buyers—and the results are incredible. Average first-time buyer prices reached over £1.2m, roughly 38.5 times the average salary!

Back to the most affordable areas, Which? found first-time buyers in Blaenau Gwent could expect average house costs of £79,439, just 3.24 times the average salary. In Barrow-in-Furness, where the average starter home costs £105,652, first-time buyers would only pay 3.29 times the average salary.

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