The most and least affordable areas for first-time home buyers

Britain's most and least affordable areas to live in have been revealed in Nationwide's local affordability report. First-time buyers face spending at least six times their annual wages to get on the property ladder in 45% of Britain's local authority areas. In comparison, back in 2016, just over a third (35%) of local authority areas had average house price-to-earnings ratios of six or more. The London borough of Kensington and Chelsea is the least affordable place for those trying get on the property ladder, while East Ayrshire in Scotland remains the most affordable, Nationwide's report found. First-time buyers face paying nearly 15 times their earnings to buy a home in Kensington and Chelsea, compared with just under two and-a-half times earnings in East Ayrshire. Nationwide said: “Most authorities in the South West have seen a deterioration in affordability over the last year... Rutland, the smallest historic county in England, remains the least affordable authority in the East Midlands, while in the West Midlands it is Malvern Hills." In Wales, the Vale of Glamorgan has replaced Cardiff as the least affordable area.

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