The most affordable British towns to buy a home REVEALED: Does yours make the list?

Cumnock in Scotland is officially the most affordable town in Britain to buy a home, according to Zoopla.

A typical house in the East Ayrshire town costs £79,030, according to the property website, almost £200,000 less than the average house in the UK.

Zoopla says the average two-income household has to pay four times their combined annual income to buy a typical house in the UK, valued at £276,000.

But in Cumnock, the amount needed to buy the average home falls to just 1.04 times the combined local salary.

Marion Wyllie, estate agent with DW Shaw in Cumnock, says the town has a lot to offer.

“Cumnock is situated in the heart of rural Ayrshire and offers a range of amenities,” says Wyllie. ‘This includes independent family-run shops, a leisure center with swimming pool, supermarkets and a modern community hospital.

“There is a nearby train station at Auchinleck, while the market town of Ayr is approximately 16 miles away and offers a wider range of services including excellent shopping, transport and recreational facilities.”

Zoopla analyzed the most common property type in each UK city and then compared the typical property value to the average salary in each local area to establish a relationship between house price and income.

It found that eight of Britain’s 10 most affordable cities were located in Scotland, with house price to income ratios ranging between 1.04 and 1.31 times the annual income of two people.

Shildon and Peterlee, in the north-east of England, were the only cities in the top 10 located outside of Scotland.

A view of the town of Cumnock from the countryside – the town is situated in the heart of rural Ayrshire.

In monetary terms, Shildon, County Durham, has the cheapest house prices in Britain, at just under £70,000.

The most common property type in Shildon is a two-bedroom semi-detached house. Purchasing a typical property in this area would cost two local buyers 1.06 times their annual gross income.

Peterlee, also in County Durham, ranks second in England, where house purchases typically cost two local buyers 1.3 times their annual gross income.

For those interested in living somewhere other than the north of England and Scotland, it’s not all bad news either.

Thanks to falling house prices in many areas, there are now pockets of “improved” affordability across the country, according to Zoopla.

It says 80 per cent of local markets are experiencing falling house prices, combined with rising wages among local people.

Teignmouth and Newton Abbot, both in south-east Devon, rank first and second as towns with the biggest improvement in affordability, according to Zoopla.

This area of ​​Devon enjoyed stronger profit growth, while house values ​​fell by an average of £19,000.

Surprisingly, pretty commuter towns such as historic Rochester and Gravesend in Kent, and Hockley in Essex, also made the list thanks to average house prices falling by 2.7 per cent in those areas.

At the other end of the scale, buyers in Radlett, Essex, can expect to pay 11.36 times their gross annual salary, 11 times that of Cumnock and the highest on this list.

Izabella Lubowiecka, senior property researcher at Zoopla, said: “High mortgage rates have meant it has been a difficult year for prospective buyers, so affordability remains a hot topic.”

‘However, thanks to rising wages and falling house prices in four out of five markets, we have seen movement on the list of most affordable cities for the first time in many years, especially in London and the surrounding areas. suburban.

“Our data can help shoppers make informed decisions about where they spend their money in Britain.”