We’ve taken a look at the latest house-value-to-household-earnings ratios across Britain to work out where you can get the most bang for your buck.

The average house is valued at 3.79x the household income

House prices vary across a country, but so do local earnings. Comparing prices with earnings helps illustrate relative affordability in the area, highlighting more and less accessible markets.

Nationally, an average house value is 3.79x the average annual household income. And the good news is that this has improved by 3.7% in the last year as earnings grew more than house prices.

Values of homes in Britain range between just over 1x the average household income in Cumnock, Scotland, to 12.43x in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.

More buyers will be able to buy in the areas with lower value-to-earnings ratios. On the other hand, a high house-value-to-earnings ratio makes buying more challenging for local families, with higher deposits and above-average incomes needed to obtain a mortgage.

Let’s take a look at the most accessible locations for local buyers.

The most affordable towns are in Scotland and North East England

While the average house-value-to-earnings ratio is 3.79 in Britain, there are many areas across the country where this ratio is much lower. This makes homes significantly more affordable to buy.

Ayrshire in South West Scotland has a particularly high concentration of affordable towns. We found that 4 out of 5 of Britain’s most affordable towns to buy are in this area: Cumnock, Girvan, Saltcoats and Ardrossan. The average home in the area is valued at up to 1.26x the annual household income in the area.

The most affordable locations to buy in England are Shildon and Peterlee, both in County Durham, and Ashington in Northumberland. Homes in these towns are valued at less than 1.4x the local household income.

Southern England shows a positive change in affordability

Over the last year, we have recorded the largest improvement in affordability in southern parts of the country, as measured by value-to-earning ratios.

As house prices fell in two thirds of southern markets (excluding London), the house-value to earnings ratios improved by almost 5% in the South East, South West and East of England.

However, affordability remains a challenge for many looking to buy in the area. We found that homes in 8 out of 10 towns are typically valued at more than 4x the average household income.

Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, as well as the coastal towns of Dover in Kent and Great Yarmouth in Norfolk are the most affordable places to buy in the south of the country. House-value-to-earnings ratios in these areas ranges between 2.96 and 3.16.

The North-South divide in affordability continues

In Scotland, 88% of towns have a house-value-to-earnings ratio below 3. In contrast, there is only one town in southern England where houses are valued at less than 3x local household earnings:  Wisbech in Cambridgeshire.

These stark differences illustrate a large gap in buyers’ affordability across Great Britain.

3% of Britain’s towns have a value-to-earnings ratio that exceeds 7, and most of those are within 15 miles of M25. This illustrates how London’s affordability challenges are now spilling over into the most desirable commuter towns.

Most affordable options for Londoners

In London, Croydon has the lowest value-to-earnings ratio of 4.69. Greenwich, as well as Barking and Dagenham also have homes valued at less than 5x the average local household income.

Those looking to get more bang for their buck may want to consider buying in a commuter town. We found 33 towns within an hour’s train journey to London that have lower value-to-earnings ratios than Croydon. The most affordable ones are Chatham (3.65), Southend (3.86) and Basingstoke (3.89).

Key takeaways

  • The average house is valued at 3.79x the average annual household income
  • Cumnock in East Ayrshire is Britain’s most affordable town to buy in 2024
  • The most affordable town to buy in England is Shildon in County Durham
  • House value-to-earnings ratios improve the most in southern England, but 8 in 10 towns are still valued at more than 4x the local household incomes
  • Wisbech is the most affordable town to buy in southern England