A Scots area is the best in the UK for first time buyers to get themselves onto the property ladder, a study has found.
Analysis carried out by Nationwide Building Society found that East Ayrshire is the most affordable in the UK.
First time buyers in the area face paying just under two and a half times their annual earnings on their illusive dream home.
The figure is a stark contrast to Kensington and Chelsea, where homes for first time buyers could be nearly 15 times higher than their earnings.
Nationwide found the London borough to be the least affordable place in the UK for people searching for their first property.
Edinburgh had the highest house price to earnings ratio with house prices at almost six times the average earnings.
In almost half (45 per cent) of the UK’s local authority areas, first time buyers face spending at least six times their annual wages to get on the property ladder.
Back in 2016, just over a third (35 per cent) of local authority areas had average house price-to-earnings ratios of six or more.
The report used official house price and earnings data from 2021.
The race for more living space during the coronavirus pandemic as people relocated may have priced some first-time buyers out of the market in more rural areas.
Andrew Harvey, a senior economist at Nationwide, said: “East Ayrshire, in Scotland, continues to be the most affordable authority in Great Britain, with average first time buyer house prices just 2.4 times average earnings.
"East Ayrshire covers a large geographic area to the south of Glasgow, but its main towns are Kilmarnock and Cumnock."
He said that, in Scotland, Aberdeen has seen the biggest improvement in housing affordability since 2016, largely due to house price falls there.
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