Price woe for first-time buyers
Bath and North East Somerset is the most expensive area in the South West to buy your first home, a recent study has shown.
Nationwide Building Society used data from the Office of National Statistics to measure the average first-time buyer house price to earnings ratios in areas across Britain.
In B&NES, properties typically cost 8.1 times the salary of a firsttime buyer – outstripping prices in Cardiff and Edinburgh.
The average detached or terraced house in the district went for between £500,000 and £600,000, according to Zoopla, and flats generally cost over £400,000.
A semi-detached property could be the cheapest option, with an average price tag of £300,000 to £400,000.
The value of bricks and mortar has been steadily increasing in B&NES since 2017, in line with the UK average, and more than 10 per cent of houses are now worth over £500,000.
Prices have skyrocketed during the pandemic, making it difficult for even wealthy first-time buyers to put down roots.
The Nationwide study showed that Swindon was the most affordable place in the region to buy your first pad, despite being within striking distance of Bath.
Other pricey locations around the UK included Hertsmere, in the east of England, and Oxford.
With houses costing an average of 16.8 times the salary of a first-time buyer, Kensington and Chelsea was the most expensive place to get on the property ladder.
The most expensive locations in each region or nation of Britain
London: Kensington and Chelsea (16.8 times average firsttime buyer earnings)
East of England: Hertsmere (9.6)
South East: Oxford (9.2)
South West: Bath and North East Somerset (8.1)
East Midlands: Rutland (6.6)
Yorkshire and the Humber: Ryedale (6.5)
West Midlands: Redditch (6.3)
North West: South Lakeland (6.3)
Wales: Cardiff (5.9)
Scotland: Edinburgh (5.4)
The most affordable locations in each region or nation of Britain
Scotland: East Ayrshire (2.3 times average first-time buyer earnings)
North West: Copeland (2.5)
North East: County Durham (2.7)
Wales: Merthyr Tydfil (3.2)
West Midlands: Stoke-ontrent (3.2)
Yorkshire and the Humber: North East Lincolnshire (3.3)
East Midlands: Bolsover (3.7)
East of England: Great Yarmouth (4.5)
South West: Swindon (5.1)
South East: Dover (5.5)
London: Bromley (6.7)
Senior economist at Nationwide, Andrew Harvey, said: “In the South West, the district of Torridge in north Devon has seen its house price to earnings ratio improve from 6.2 to 5.3. “This appears to be due to strong growth in earnings (32 per cent) over the period. Affordability gains in other regions have been more modest.”