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Search the Public Notice PortalTwo towns in Scotland have been named the cheapest places for first-time buyers to get on the property market in the UK.
Kilmarnock in Ayrshire topped a list compiled by property website Rightmove on where people looking to get their first home would find the most affordable properties.
Greenock, in Inverclyde, came second – followed by Grimsby in Lincolnshire.
According to Rightmove, the cost of the average first-time buyer home in Kilmarnock was £84,325, while the price tag in Greenock was £88,862.
In Scotland, the average price of this type of property was said to be £140,783.
However, the Rightmove analysis found that a typical monthly mortgage payment on a first-time buyer property is £350 more than five years ago.
The average monthly mortgage payment on a typical first-time buyer property, a two-bedroom or fewer home, is now £940 compared to £590 in 2020, despite improvements in the mortgage market from last year.
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% in the last five years, versus a 17% increase in the price of a typical first-time buyer home.
This has slightly increased the borrowing power of first-time buyers, which is typically an average of 4.5 times a single or joint income from a mortgage lender.
However, affordability remains very stretched, which is why Rightmove has welcomed proposals from the mortgage regulator that they are considering responsible ways to enable first-time buyers to borrow more.
READ MORE:
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- Scottish areas with highest salary needed to buy homes revealed
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, if they were only able to borrow 4.5 times their salary, even if they’d saved up a 10% deposit.
Rightmove’s mortgage expert Matt Smith says: “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.”
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