Scottish city homes more affordable, says survey

City homes in Scotland are more affordable than ever, according to new figures.
The average price for a city home in Scotland is £159,450, which equals 5.15-times gross annual average earnings, according to the latest Bank of Scotland Affordable Cities Review.

This is 22% below the peak of 6.57 in 2008 and better than the UK city affordability average of 5.6.
The ratio of house prices to earnings remains at its lowest level since 2004 when it was 4.94, the data shows.

Nitesh Patel, housing economist at the Bank of Scotland, says, “There has been a significant improvement in housing affordability in many of Scotland's major urban areas over the past five years, largely reflecting the general decline in house prices since 2008.”

Since 2008, the average city house price in Scotland has fallen by 15% or £27,928 from £187,377 in 2008 to £159,450 in 2013.

Stirling (pictured) is the most affordable city in Scotland and the fourth most affordable in the UK with an average property price that is 3.81 times gross average annual earnings in the area.
The next most affordable Scottish city is Glasgow at 4.23, which is the seventh most affordable city in the UK.

Londonderry in Northern Ireland is the most affordable UK city with an average property price of £94,776, or 3.38 times gross average annual earnings. The two next most affordable cities are also in Northern Ireland, Lisburn at 3.5 and Belfast at 3.67.

The least affordable city in Scotland is Inverness where the average property price is 5.71 times gross average annual earnings in the area.

The least affordable city in the UK is Oxford where the average property price is 9.66 times gross average earnings.

Three cities in the South West of England are the next least affordable with Salisbury at 8.6, Bath at 8.2 and Truro at 8.2.

Lichfield at 6.75 and Leicester at 6.08 are the least affordable cities outside southern England.
“Looking forward, the marked improvement in city affordability is likely to help support demand for those able to raise the necessary funds to enter the housing market,” adds Mr Patel.

http://www.opp-connect.com/index.php?option=com_postwebsites&view=postnews&id=962