Buyers prioritising affordability should look to Scotland’s East and North Ayrshire, which has a low median first-time buyer house price of just £103,453.
The area also has a median monthly salary of £2,268, which is only just lower than the UK average of £2,322.
The analysis comes from mortgage broker L&C Mortgages.
In England the most affordable region for first-time buyers is Durham, with a median monthly salary of £2,229 compared to an average first-time buyer house price of £111,454, resulting in a favourable ratio of 4.17.
An expert from L&C Mortgages said: “As house prices have rapidly increased across the UK in recent years, the affordability challenges have only grown.
“Identifying regions with favourable house-to-income cost ratios shows just how regionalised affordability can be and highlights how some first-time buyers may find it easier to get on the property ladder than others.
“Scotland features high up in the list of areas offering numerous areas with more affordable housing prices when compared to earnings. On this metric, it looks to have a solid status as the top UK area for affordability for prospective homeowners.
“Unsurprisingly, London dominated the list of areas where first-time buyers may find it hardest to get on the ladder, highlighting the mismatch between house prices and average earning.
“Additionally, the ranking highlighted the most cost-effective regions in England for first-time buyers were largely to be found in the North East, with Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, and Durham County Council leading the pack.
“That will be welcomed by first-time buyers looking in those areas, and although never easy to get on the ladder, it could at least offer hope to those saving toward their first purchase ”
Eight in 10 of the most affordable regions for first-time buyers are in Scotland: in North Lanarkshire; South Lanarkshire; Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire; East Lanarkshire; Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire; Falkirk; and South Ayrshire.
On the other end of the scale, numerous areas in London emerged as the least favourable options for first-time buyers, with low median salaries and staggeringly expensive properties.
Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham topped the list as the least cost-effective areas for first-time buyers. The area’s median first-time buyer house price was a staggering £792,899, with monthly earnings of just £3,261 – making this the most challenging and inaccessible market for first-time buyers in the UK.
