Most and least affordable Scots areas for first-time buyers

East Ayrshire is the most affordable place for people trying to get on the property ladder, analysis has found.

Nationwide Building Society measured by the typical first-time buyer house price to earnings ratios in local areas across Britain, using Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.

In Edinburgh the typical house price is 5.4 times earnings, the report found.

At the other end of the spectrum, East Ayrshire in Scotland has average first-time buyer house prices at 2.3 times typical earnings.

East Ayrshire covers a large area to the south of Glasgow, with Kilmarnock and Cumnock being its main towns.

Andrew Harvey, senior economist at Nationwide, said: “In Scotland, the capital cities see strong demand for housing and have the highest house price to earnings ratios.

“The city of Aberdeen has seen the greatest improvement in affordability, with average first-time buyer house price to earnings ratio declining from 4.7 to 3.2 in the last five years.

“This is predominantly due to the 28% fall in average prices over the period, though incomes have also risen by 7%.”

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