The most affordable UK towns to buy a home in 2020

Shildon in County Durham is the most affordable place to purchase a home in the UK, research suggests.

Owning a home is a milestone for most Brits, but property prices aren’t the only obstacle to achieving this dream. Differences in local salaries make purchasing a property far more achievable in some towns than in others.

With properties costing about £60,000 ($78,944) and annual earnings coming in at £28,000 per person, Shildon has a property price-to-earnings ratio of 2.11 to 1 — making it the most affordable place in the UK to buy a home, according to analysis by property portal Zoopla.

What’s more, Shildon is also the cheapest place to buy a property based on cost for size, at just £756 per square metre, the research found.

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Meanwhile, Cumnock in Scotland, and Ferryhill in England come joint second, the data shows.

A home in the industrial heritage town of Cumnock, Aryshire will set Brits back around £74,000, against annual earnings of £31,000. This 2.39 to 1 price-to-earnings ratio is considerably cheaper than most UK towns.

Properties in Ferryhill, also in County Durham, come in at about £70,000, against earnings of £28,000 a year — a 2.47 to 1 ratio.

Peterlee in County Durham also made the list, making the north-east county one of the cheapest in the UK, overall. Homes in Peterlee cost about £71,000, against an annual income of £28,000 per person — a 2.5 to 1 ratio.

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Girvan in Scotland rounds out the top five. Settling down in the South Ayrshire town will cost Brits £84,000, while salaries are about £32,000 per year — a 2.61 to 1 ratio.

Ferndale in Rhondda Cynon Taff is the most affordable town in Wales, with properties costing £87,000 and average salaries standing at £27,000, putting the price-to-earnings ratio at 2.76 to 1, the data shows.

Overall, England is the least affordable country in the UK to buy a home, with properties costing around £100,000 more than in Wales and Scotland, the study found