Stirling named most affordable city for house prices in the UK

STIRLING remains the most affordable city in the UK when house prices are compared to local pay, a study has found.

The average property price in Stirling was £186,084 in 2017, which is 4.03 times local average earnings, below the average in Scotland of 5.35 and the UK of 7.20, the Bank of Scotland said.

It is the fifth year in a row that Stirling has been ranked as the most affordable in the bank’s cities research and it is joined by four other Scottish cities – Dundee, Glasgow, Inverness and Perth – in the UK top 20.

Across Scotland as a whole, home affordability has improved very slightly in the last 12 months the study found.

The average house price across all Scottish cities increased by 1.8%, from £186,827 in 2016 to £190,250 in 2017, but average earnings increased by 2%, resulting in average home affordability improving very slightly in the last year from 5.36 to 5.35 times average earnings.

Edinburgh, Dundee and Perth all saw an improvement in average home affordability with a slight decline for Aberdeen.

Inverness, Glasgow and Stirling also saw a decline but still feature in the top 20 most affordable UK cities.

House prices in Edinburgh remain the most expensive in the country but have become more affordable in the last year, the study found.

Perth has seen the biggest improvement in terms of home affordability over the last five years, with the average price rising by 11% to £181,329 in the last five years, lower than the average of all other Scottish cities which increased by 23% to £190,250.

The study found that Perth is the only city in Scotland where homes are more affordable than they were five years ago, improving from 5.5 times the average yearly salary to 5.44.

Average house prices in Glasgow increased faster than in any other Scottish city, growing by 35% in the last five years.

Ricky Diggins, director at Bank of Scotland, said: “It will come as no surprise to anyone looking to buy a home in Scotland that affordability is not improving by much but compared to the rest of the UK, the dream of living in one of our cities is more achievable.

“Surprisingly, homes in Edinburgh have become more affordable in the last 12 months, although house prices in our capital continue to be more expensive than in all other Scottish cities.”