Scottish town named 'cheapest area for first home' in UK - see the top 10

Scottish town named ‘cheapest area for first home’ in UK – see the top 10

The cheapest areas for a first home in Scotland have been named in a brand new study.

Kilmarnock is the cheapest place in the UK for first-time buyers(Image: Getty Images)

A Scottish town has been named the “cheapest area for a first home” in the UK. When purchasing a house or a flat, there are many factors to consider.

While location, amenities, and schools are all important, affordability is the most important thing to consider for most buyers. The UK’s largest property website, Rightmove, has shared new analysis detailing how the cost of mortgage payments differs across the nation.

According to the experts, a typical monthly mortgage payment on a first-time buyer property is £350 more than it was five years ago. Rightmove has revealed the destinations across the UK that are the most affordable for first-time buyers.

Coming in at number one on the nationwide list is Kilmarnock in Ayrshire. The data reveals that the price tag of a typical first home in Kilmarnock is £84,325. This marks a decrease of 1 per cent when compared with the previous year.

Meanwhile, the second-most affordable location for first-time buyers in the UK is Greenock in Inverclyde. According to Rightmove, the average asking price for a first-time buyer home in the town is £88,862—an increase of 0.7 per cent from the previous year.

Other Scottish destinations that feature in the top 10 most affordable locations for first-time buyers are Paisley in Renfrewshire, East Kilbride in Lanarkshire, and Ayr in Ayrshire, which appear at numbers seven, eight, and nine, respectively. The average asking price for a first-time buyer home is £99,570 in Paisley, £100,814 in East Kilbride, and £101,391 in Ayr.

Greenock promenade houses looking onto the Firth of Clyde UK

Greenock has been named one of the cheapest destinations in the UK for first-time buyers(Image: richard johnson / Getty Images)

Rightmove’s study found that the average monthly mortgage payment on a typical first-time buyer property is now £940 compared to £590 in 2020. However, the average payment is still £155 lower than the peak in 2023.

Average wage growth has outpaced the rise in average asking price for a typical first-time buyer property. Average earnings have grown by 30 per cent in the last five years, versus a 17 per cent increase in the price of a typical first-time buyer home.

This has slightly increased the borrowing power of first-time buyers. This is typically an average of 4.5 times a single or joint income from a mortgage lender.

United Kingdom, Great Britain, Scotland, South West, Ayrshire, March 26, 2023, Ayr Town, Ayr river, the New Bridge is the landmark sight along the river in the old town, not far from the river harbor.

The average asking price for a first-time buyer home in Ayr is £101,391(Image: Andrea Pistolesi / Getty Images)

However, according to the experts, affordability remains very stretched. As a result, Rightmove has welcomed proposals from the mortgage regulator that they are considering responsible ways to enable first-time buyers to borrow more.

The analysis also highlights the particular challenge for any first-time buyers trying to purchase a home on their own. In more than half of UK regions, a first-time buyer on a typical salary would not be able to afford a typical first home on their own, even if they had saved up a 10 per cent deposit.

Rightmove’s mortgage expert Matt Smith commented: “Higher mortgage rates mean home-movers need to consider how much they can afford to pay each month on a monthly mortgage, even if they can meet the asking price of a home. Another measure of affordability which is restricting some first-time buyers from getting onto the ladder is how much they can borrow.

“It’s encouraging to see that the regulator is considering how they may be able to enable first-time buyers to borrow more in a responsible way, as we think this will help to unlock more opportunity, particularly for those with smaller deposits.”