Unlikely havens where buying your first home is within reach | News

Soaring house prices and a booming market can make getting on the property ladder a daunting prospect.

However, new analysis shows that some unlikely locations are bucking the national affordability trend.

The price of the average first-time buyer’s home has risen by 22 per cent to £214,638 since 2016, far outpacing the average first-time buyer’s salary, which has increased by 13 per cent to £38,251.

But research by Nationwide, shows that properties in a quarter of local authorities have defied the odds to become more affordable than they were five years ago. This is either because prices have fallen, as in Westminster and Aberdeen, or wages have risen, as in Reading and Cambridge.

In Cambridge the average first-time buyer’s salary has risen by more