Durham Most Affordable To Buy A Home

21 September 2014, 06:00

Durham has been named the UK's most affordable city and the easiest place in the country to gain a first foot on the property ladder.

The research, carried out by estate agents Knight Frank - which mapped average earnings for the under 40s against typical house prices - also named Newcastle in the UK's top 10 affordable cities.

London was found to be three times less affordable than Durham.

A separate survey revealed investors looking for top buy-to-let yields are also better off buying property in the region, which boasts the UK's highest average rental yields of 6.4% - despite figures from tenant referencing service Homelet indicating that rents in the region fell by 0.8% in August and have declined by 1.7% this year.

Property expert Ajay Jagota, founder and Chief Executive Officer of KIS said:
"If you're a first time buyer struggling to get on the property ladder or an investor looking to make a rapid return on rental properties the evidence is as clear as my advice: Look North.

Even if you are one of the growing number of people who prefers renting to buying despite being able afford home ownership, our rents are literally almost half the UK average, and almost £1000 a month cheaper than London.

The apparent easing in the rental market is an interesting one. August is a famously slow month in all areas of the property market, but it could be the case that the success of the Help to Buy Scheme has lessened demand for homes by removing renters from the market, lowering demand for rented homes, or it could be that we are witnessing a settling of the market."