Luck is in for Scottish first-time buyers

By Tim Dawson, Sunday Times Scotland

STATIC house prices have now made Scotland the most affordable place in Britain to buy a home.

According to Registers of Scotland latest figures, average prices at the end of December 2011 were exactly the same as they were at the end of 2010—and research by the Bank of Scotland suggests that the combination of depressed prices and low interest rates makes houses north of the Border uniquely affordable.

According to the Bank, both first-time buyers borrowers can expect to pay, on average, just 20% of their disposable income on mortgage payments, compared with a 27-year average of 30%.

“Scotland has seven of the 10 most affordable local authority districts in the UK,” says Nitesh Patel, the bank’s hyousing economist. “East Ayrshire is the most affordable—mortgage payments account for just 15.7% of average local earnings there.”

ros.gov.uk