ZOOPLA RANKS SHILDON AS BRITAIN’S MOST AFFORDABLE TOWN

Zoopla has ranked Shildon in County Durham as Britain’s most affordable town for homebuyers in an analysis of 929 towns. The property website valued the average Shildon home at £73,600, equivalent to 1.15 times the combined annual earnings of two full-time workers. It identified 36 locations where average property values fell below twice those annual household earnings. Across all towns studied, Zoopla put the typical home’s value at £299,100, or 4.3 times annual household earnings.

County Durham also supplied the next two towns in Zoopla’s ranking, with Ferryhill second and Peterlee third. Zoopla valued the average Ferryhill property at £91,500, equivalent to 1.43 times the annual earnings of two full-time workers. Scotland accounted for 23 of the 36 locations below the twice-earnings threshold, according to the analysis. Zoopla placed eight of those locations in north-east England, four in north-west England and one in Wales.

Zoopla identified Dover as the South East’s most affordable town, putting its typical property value at nearly three times annual household earnings. Its analysis ranked Tower Hamlets as London’s most affordable borough, with average values equivalent to 4.91 times a two-worker household’s income. Richard Donnell, Zoopla’s executive director, said slower house price growth than income growth had improved affordability, while higher mortgage rates increased monthly buying costs. He added: “Expanding a search to neighbouring towns could make a meaningful difference to their buying options.”