LEAST AND MOST AFFORDABLE

FIRST-TIME buyers face spending at least six times their annual wages to buy a property in nearly half (45%) of Britain’s local authority areas as affordability becomes more stretched.

Back in 2016, just over a third (35%) of local authority areas had average house price-to-earnings ratios of six or more, according to the analysis by Nationwide Building Society.

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 anda-half times earnings in East Ayrshire.

The report used official house price and earnings data from 2021.

The race for more living space during the coronavirus pandemic as people relocated may have priced some first-time buyers out of the market in more rural areas.

Andrew Harvey, a senior economist at Nationwide, said: “Most authorities in the South West (of England) have seen a deterioration in affordability over the last year, but Cotswold replaced Bath and North East Somerset as the least affordable area, with a house price earnings ratio of 8.6. This district includes sought-after towns such as Cirencester, Tetbury and Moreton-in-Marsh.”

Swindon remains the most affordable area in the South West, with a house price-to-earnings ratio of 5.4, he said.

HERE are the least affordable local authority areas for first-time buyers in Britain’s nations and regions, according to Nationwide Building Society, with the average house price-to-earnings ratio:

■ London, Kensington and Chelsea, 14.7

■ South East, Oxford, 10.1

■ East of England, Hertsmere, 10.0

■ South West, Cotswold, 8.6

■ East Midlands, Rutland, 7.3

■ Yorkshire and the Humber, Ryedale, 7.0

■ West Midlands, Malvern Hills, 6.8

■ North West, South Lakeland, 6.7

■ Wales, Vale of Glamorgan, 6.4

■ Scotland, City of Edinburgh, 5.9

■ North East, North Tyneside, 4.3

And here are the most affordable places for first-time buyers in each area:

■ Scotland, East Ayrshire, 2.4

■ North West, Copeland, 2.8

■ North East, County Durham, 3.1

■ Wales, Merthyr Tydfil, 3.4

■ Yorkshire and the Humber, Barnsley, 3.7

■ West Midlands, Stoke-on-Trent, 3.8

■ East Midlands, Bolsover, 4.0

■ East of England, Great Yarmouth, 5.0

■ South West, Swindon, 5.4

■ South East, Southampton, 5.6

■ London, Bromley, 7.4

> Swindon, left, remains the most affordable area in the South West while villages such as Bibury, far left, in the Cotswolds remain the least affordable