Zoopla has identified 36 towns where the average price of a home is actually less than twice typical household earnings.
The website analysed 929 towns across Britain to find that a typical home is valued at £299,100, or 4.3 times annual household earnings (£69,600) – based on two full-time working adults.
However, in the country’s most affordable locations, the relationship between household earnings and house prices varies significantly, falling to just 1.15 times earnings.
Scotland accounts for almost two-thirds of the 36 towns where home values are less than twice local household earnings, followed by the North East of England, the North West and Wales.
Unsurprisingly the South East is the second least affordable region in Britain, behind London, with a typical home valued at £395,700, equivalent to 5.33 times annual household earnings.
Most affordable town in each region
| Region | Most affordable town | Typical home value | Price-to-household earnings ratio |
| North East | Shildon | £73,600 | 1.15 |
| Scotland | Fraserburgh | £116,000 | 1.59 |
| North West | Workington | £114,900 | 1.65 |
| Wales | Ferndale | £116,200 | 1.82 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | Kingston upon Hull | £131,400 | 2.16 |
| West Midlands | Stoke-on-Trent | £160,700 | 2.64 |
| East Midlands | Ilkeston | £192,100 | 2.70 |
| East of England | Great Yarmouth | £166,300 | 2.72 |
| South East | Dover | £206,300 | 2.97 |
| South West | Bideford | £224,700 | 3.35 |
| London* | Tower Hamlets | £455,200 | 4.91 |
Source: Zoopla 2026
Scotland dominates the list of towns where a typical home is worth less than twice household earnings, accounting for 23 of the 36 locations.
The North East follows with eight, the North West with four and Wales with one.
At a regional level, the North East is the most affordable, with homes valued at 2.64 times local household earnings, followed by Scotland (2.74), Yorkshire and the Humber (3.28), the North West (3.49) and Wales (3.53), all below the national average of 4.3.
Britain’s ten most affordable towns
| Rank | Town | Region | Typical home value | Price-to- household earnings ratio |
| 1 | Shildon | North East | £73,600 | 1.15 |
| 2 | Ferryhill | North East | £91,500 | 1.43 |
| 3 | Peterlee | North East | £96,500 | 1.51 |
| 4 | Fraserburgh | Scotland | £116,000 | 1.59 |
| 5 | Irvine | Scotland | £114,800 | 1.62 |
| 6 | Peterhead | Scotland | £120,600 | 1.65 |
| = | Ardrossan | Scotland | £116,900 | 1.65 |
| = | Workington | North West | £114,900 | 1.65 |
| 9 | Methil | Scotland | £116,400 | 1.69 |
| = | Saltcoats | Scotland | £119,600 | 1.69 |
Source: Zoopla 2026
The North East claims Britain’s three most affordable towns, all in County Durham.
Shildon, a historic railway town and home to the Locomotion museum, takes the top spot, with a typical home valued at just £73,600, equivalent to 1.15 times annual household earnings (£64,000).
It is followed by the former mining town of Ferryhill at £91,500 (1.43) and Peterlee, a post-war new town built to house East Durham’s mining communities, at £96,500 (1.51).
These are the only three towns among the 929 analysed where typical home values fall below £100,000.
Scotland claims six of the remaining seven places in Britain’s top ten, with coastal locations featuring prominently.
Elsewhere, Workington, a coastal town in west Cumbria with a history of coal mining and steelmaking, is the North West’s most affordable town, ranking eighth nationally, with a typical home value of £114,900 (1.65 times household earnings).
In Wales, Ferndale, a former coal mining community in the Rhondda Fach valley, ranks 20th nationally, with a typical home value of £116,200 (1.82 times household earnings).
Howeverthe affordability picture is considerably different further south.
The South East is Britain’s second least affordable region after London, with a typical home valued at £395,700, or 5.33 times household earnings.
Dover is the region’s most affordable location. Here, homes cost £206,300 (2.97 times household earnings), placing it 187th nationally.
In the South West, where homes cost 4.87 times household earnings, the historic harbour town of Bideford in North Devon takes the top spot.
Situated on the River Torridge, with access to the North Devon coastline and beaches of Westward Ho!. The town has a typical home value of £224,700 (3.35 times household earnings), ranking 275th nationally.
London remains the least affordable region, with a typical home valued at £524,100, or 6.11 times household earnings.
Tower Hamlets, spanning parts of London’s traditional East End and the financial district of Canary Wharf, is the capital’s most affordable borough relative to local incomes, although homes still cost £455,200 (4.91 times household earnings).
This article is taken from Landlord Today