Does Scotland have the UK’s most affordable housing?

Mortgage payments for a new borrower in Scotland are at their lowest as a proportion of disposable earnings for a decade, according to new Bank of Scotland research. Overall, mortgage payments have nearly halved as a proportion of income over the past five years from a peak of 38 per cent in 2007.

Mortgage payments account for the lowest proportion of disposable earnings in Scotland, around 20 per cent. This compares with the UK average of 26 per cent.

The ten most affordable local authority districts in the UK are all in Scotland. East Ayrshire is the most affordable local authority district in the UK with typical mortgage payments accounting for 15 per cent of average local earnings. It is followed by West Dunbartonshire (16.1 per cent) and North Ayrshire (16.2 cent).

Aberdeenshire is the least affordable local authority district in Scotland, followed by Perth & Kinross, and Edinburgh.

Nitesh Patel, housing economist at Bank of Scotland, said: “Lower house prices and reduced mortgage rates have led to a significant improvement in housing affordability for those able to fund the necessary deposit to enter the market over the past five years. The relatively low level of mortgage payments in relation to income is providing support for Scottish house prices. The prospect of interest rates remaining at low levels for sometime yet is expected to continue to be a key factor supporting the demand for homes, helping to keep house prices around their current level during the remainder of 2012.”

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• stonedwolf

  Scotland also has some of the lowest life expectancy in the UK so perhaps the housing availability is partly thanks to “turnover” of residents!!