The Scottish areas named among 'most and least affordable' for UK first time buyers

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Scottish area has been named as the "most affordable" for first-time buyers in the UK, new data has found.Inverclyde topped the list for affordable local authorities over 2022 in Nationwide Building Society's latest affordability report.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh was found to be among the least affordable areas in the UK, taking the 10th spot on the list of expensive areas.Nationwide calculated affordability for first time buyers by comparing local house prices to earnings, known as a house price to earnings ratio (HPER).

Inverclyde has a HPER of 2.6 while Edinburgh's was 6.2.While there was a noticeable gap between the two Scottish areas, the least affordable Local Authority overall, Westminster in London, had a HPER of 15.6.Commenting on the figures, Andrew Harvey, Senior Economist, said: "The biggest change in terms of housing affordability for potential buyers over the past year has been the rise in the cost of servicing the typical mortgage as a result of the increase in mortgage rates."RegionLocal AuthorityHPERScotlandInverclyde2.6North WestBurnley3.1NorthCounty Durham3.1WalesBlaenau Gwent3.8West MidlandsStoke-on-Trent3.8Yorkshire & The HumberNorth East Lincolnshire3.9East MidlandsBolsover4.4East AngliaGreat Yarmouth5.4South WestSwindon5.4Outer South EastSouthampton5.9Outer MetropolitanEast Hertfordshire6.3LondonBromley7.4Mortgage rates rose last year as a result of inflation which has led to the Bank of England increasing its borrowing base rate.Citizens Advice Scotland said there had been a 223 percent increase in use of their mortgage calculator to work out monthly bills.Mr Harvey added Scotland typically has the lowest house price to earnings ratios compared to other parts of the UK.While it did not appear in the