The most affordable places to buy your first home in the UK

Getting onto the property ladder remains a struggle for many first-time buyers, especially following increases to mortgage rates since the start of spring.

But where you buy can make a huge difference. New research from Lloyds reveals the cheapest areas for first-time buyers across the UK, with some locations averaging less than half the price of homes in London.

Here, Which? reveals the most affordable places to buy, what monthly mortgage repayments could cost and the extra expenses first-time buyers often overlook.

Cheapest places to buy your first home in the UK

The most affordable place for first-time buyers in the UK is East Ayrshire in Scotland, according to research from Lloyds Bank. The largest town in the district is Kilmarnock.

Situated within easy reach of Glasgow and Scotland’s west coast, the area combines rural and urban living while remaining one of the cheapest places in the UK to buy a first home.

The most affordable area in Wales is Merthyr Tydfil (pictured above) on the edge of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, formerly known as the Brecon Beacons. It's roughly a 40-minute drive from Cardiff.

The table shows the 10 most affordable areas for first-time buyers in the UK. It's dominated by areas in Scotland, making up half of the top 10.

Local area	Region	Average FTB price
East Ayrshire	Scotland	£147,353
Inverclyde	Scotland	£149,929
Blackpool	North West	£150,780
Kingston upon Hull	Yorkshire and The Humber	£151,171
Na h-Eileanan Siar	Scotland	£155,300
Hyndburn	North West	£155,911
Clackmannanshire	Scotland	£156,041
Merthyr Tydfil	Wales	£156,498
South Tyneside	North East	£157,551
West Dunbartonshire	Scotland	£159,437

Cheapest areas in each region

The research shows a stark difference in property costs across the UK. Many of the most affordable areas in the table have average prices less than half the cost of buying in the most affordable area in London.

Blackpool is narrowly the most affordable area in England, beating Kingston upon Hull by just a few hundred pounds.

Hull remains one of the cheapest cities for buyers in Yorkshire and the Humber, while Great Yarmouth ranks as the most affordable area in the East of England.

Meanwhile, Barking and Dagenham remains the cheapest area for first-time buyers in London, with an average property price of £363,748.

Local area	Region	Average FTB price
East Midlands	Bolsover	£191,564
East of England	Great Yarmouth	£236,447
London	Barking and Dagenham	£363,748
North East	South Tyneside	£157,551
North West	Blackpool	£150,780
Northern Ireland	Mid and East Antrim	£175,308
Scotland	East Ayrshire	£147,353
South East	Gosport	£228,617
South West	Plymouth	£216,166
Wales	Merthyr Tydfil	£156,498
West Midlands	Stoke-on-Trent	£171,569
Yorkshire and The Humber	Kingston upon Hull	£151,171

What mortgage repayments could cost

Buying a home is likely to be the largest purchase of your life, and it can be difficult to translate the purchase cost of a property into what your monthly mortgage repayments will actually be.

For many first-time buyers, monthly repayments are just as important as the property price itself when deciding what is affordable.

To illustrate how the size of your loan affects the cost of monthly repayments, we have calculated it for six loan amounts.

In our calculations, we have used the best rates available on 21 May for the most popular mortgage product among first-time buyers – a five-year fixed-rate deal.

We have calculated this for three loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, as this will alter the best rate available to you. Typically, the lower the LTV ratio, the lower the rate. Although once your LTV falls below 60%, rates tend to be the same.

The highest moving costs for first-time buyers

The typical cost of moving into your first home comes to £2,315, according to the latest data from Reallymoving.

It spotlights conveyancing fees of almost £1,500, house surveys costing almost £500 and removal vans costing more than £400 as the main services the average first-time buyer needs to budget for.

Our previous research shows buyers also need to make sure other costs are included in moving budgets.

We found that decorating a new space is the most common unexpected moving cost. Buying new appliances and purchasing curtains or blinds were also among the top unexpected expenses.

Find out more:

Stamp duty for first-time buyers

Another common unexpected cost is stamp duty. The average UK first-time buyer doesn't pay any.

In England and Northern Ireland, first-time buyers only start paying stamp duty when purchasing a property worth more than £300,000.

First-time buyers purchasing homes between £300,001 and £500,000 pay a reduced rate compared with home movers. However, if you purchase a property worth more than £500,000, you lose first-time buyer stamp duty relief entirely.

For example, if you are purchasing a home for £490,000 you would owe £9,500 in stamp duty. If the property costs £510,000, the amount of tax rises to £15,500.

Scotland and Wales use different property taxes. In Scotland, buyers pay Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), while Wales uses Land Transaction Tax (LTT).

In Scotland, first-time buyers start paying LBTT when purchasing a property worth more than £175,000.

In Wales, there's no separate first-time buyer relief, so first-time buyers pay the same Land Transaction Tax (LTT) rates as home movers. Buyers only start paying LTT on properties worth more than £225,000.

Where are first-time buyers the youngest?

Along with the most affordable areas for first-time buyers, Lloyds has also calculated the areas with the youngest first-time buyers.

The average age of a first-time buyer in the UK is now 32, two years older than a decade ago, but unchanged over the past year.

However, buyers in some parts of the country are getting onto the property ladder much earlier than others, particularly in more affordable areas outside major cities.

The area with the youngest first-time buyers is the Ribble Valley, according to Lloyds. The largest town in this Lancashire district is Clitheroe, on the edge of the Forest of Bowland National Landscape. In less than 40 minutes by car, you can get to Preston, Blackburn and Burnley.

Local area	Region	Average FTB age	Average FTB price
Pendle	North West	27.9	£188,136
Rutland	East Midlands	28.1	£281,130
Cannock Chase	West Midlands	28.3	£213,399
North Norfolk	Eastern England	28.4	£242,318
Staffordshire Moorlands	West Midlands	28.5	£219,616
Chorley	North West	28.7	£221,232
Eastern England	Mid Suffolk	28.7	£289,372
Westmorland and Furness	North West	28.8	£212,848

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source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/the-most-affordable-places-to-buy-your-first-home-in-the-uk-aYOD42m0Lyoj