The Bank of Scotland reports that living in the city hasn’t been this affordable since 2004, and experts attribute the new opportunities to falling prices in the country’s metro areas. City dwellings are 22% more affordable than they were in 2008, or just slightly over five times the average gross annual earnings for residents. After cities in Northern Ireland, Scotland boasts some of the most affordable cities in the United Kingdom. Stirling is the most affordable city in which to a buy a home in Scotland and bargains abound in nearly every city when compared to prices in England. For more on this continue reading the following article from Property Wire.
Home affordability for city dwellers in Scotland has improved by nearly a quarter since 2008, according to the latest Bank of Scotland Affordable Cities Review.
The average price for a city home in Scotland is £159,450, some 5.15 times gross annual average earnings. This is 22% below the peak of 6.57 in 2008, the data also shows and city living in Scotland is more affordable than the UK city average of 5.6.
Whilst there was no national improvement in affordability over the past year, the ratio of house prices to earnings remains at its lowest level since 2004 when it was 4.94.
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The bank says that the marked improvement in affordability in cities over recent years has been driven by the significant fall in city house prices. Since 2008, the average city house price in Scotland has fallen by 15% or £27,928 from £187,377 in 2008 to £159,450 in 2013.
Stirling is the most affordable city in Scotland and the fourth most affordable in the UK with an average property price that is 3.81 times gross average annual earnings in the area. The next most affordable Scottish city is Glasgow at 4.23, which is also the seventh most affordable city in the UK.
Londonderry in Northern Ireland is the most affordable UK city with an average property price of £94,776 that is 3.38 times gross average annual earnings. The two next most affordable cities are also in Northern Ireland, Lisburn at 3.5 and Belfast at 3.67.
The least affordable city in Scotland is Inverness where the average property price is 5.71 times gross average annual earnings in the area.
The least affordable city in the UK is Oxford where the average property price is 9.66 times gross average earnings in the area. Three cities in the South West of England are the next least affordable with Salisbury at 8.6, Bath at 8.2 and Truro at 8.2. Lichfield at 6.75 and Leicester at 6.08 are the least affordable cities outside southern England.
‘There has been a significant improvement in housing affordability in many of Scotland’s major urban areas over the past five years, largely reflecting the general decline in house prices since 2008. The average price for a city home in Scotland is significantly below the peak of 2008 and is more affordable than the UK city average,’ said Nitesh Patel, housing economist at the Bank of Scotland.
Looking forward, the marked improvement in city affordability is likely to help support demand for those able to raise the necessary funds to enter the housing market,’ added Patel.
This article was republished with permission from Property Wire.
