The 10 most affordable places to buy a home

Perhaps surprisingly, Dudley is the most affordable place in the UK to buy a property. Research by Adzuna suggest that 9 out of 10 homes in Dudley are within financial reach for residents on average local incomes. Compare this to Oxford and Brighton which come out as the least affordable housing markets – here, are locals priced out of 80% of properties.

Adzuna has calculated the affordability of areas by looking at average salaries for the top 50 cities in the UK and comparing this to property asking prices and typical mortgage multiples. The Midlands comes out well with strong performances from Dudley, Birmingham & Derby where the average local couple is able to afford 4 out of 5 properties.

Interestingly, although the UK’s most expensive homes are in London, high median incomes among workers in the capital mean it does not make the five least affordable places to live in Britain. Guildford, Chelmsford and High Wycombe are all less affordable than London with house prices up to six times the average local joint income.

Northern and Scottish cities are generally more affordable than Southern ones – nearly 60% of the homes on the market in the south are out of budget for the average local, compared to only 30% in the north. The South West is the second least affordable region overall, due in part to second homeowners driving up prices.

“While it’s clear first time buyers in Southern Britain are finding it difficult to get a foot on the property ladder, pockets of opportunity are springing up around the country for those looking to pick up a bargain, ” said Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna.

Top 10 most affordable cities for homebuyers

1 Dudley
2 Hull
3 Birmingham
4 Stoke-on-Trent
5 Bradford
6 Derby
7 Wolverhampton
8 Manchester
9 Glasgow
10 Sunderland

Top 10 least affordable cities for homebuyers

1 Brighton
2 Oxford
3 Guildford
4 Chelmsford
5 High Wycombe
6 Cambridge
7 London
8 Reading
9 Norwich
10 Bristol

Useful web sites for more information

• Independent Property Search Engine
• Independent House & Home section

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• baldfatlimey

  Reading, sadly, is not a city. Do you mean towns by any chance, as few of the places named above appear to have royal charter