Scotland’s most and least affordable cities revealed

Stirling is one of the two most affordable cities in the UK when comparing average house prices with wages, according to new research.

The average house price in Stirling is now £192,326, which is 4.4 times local average earnings, a ratio matched only by Londonderry in Northern Ireland.

It is below the overall average ratio in Scotland of 5.4 and the UK average of 7.5, Bank of Scotland figures show.

The affordability of homes in Stirling comes despite average house prices there increasing by 41% from £136,036 in the last five years, faster than any other Scottish city.

Aberdeen has seen Scotland’s biggest boost in home affordability as average house prices have risen only 2% to £203,944 in the last five years compared with an average of 30% in Scottish cities since 2013.

The affordability of homes in Glasgow has declined the most in the last half decade, from 4.5 to 5.5 times average earnings.

Ricky Diggins, director at the Bank of Scotland, said: “Although we’ve seen house prices rise dramatically in Stirling and homes in Glasgow become less affordable over the past five years, Aberdeen has in fact seen the biggest improvement.

“With average earnings and house prices broadly on a par, it’s good news for home-buyers looking to live in one of the UK’s top 20 most affordable cities.”

Along with Stirling, Aberdeen, with a house price to wages ratio of five, Perth (5.1), Dundee (5.4), Glasgow (5.5) and Inverness (5.8) are also ranked among the top 20 most affordable cities in the UK.

Edinburgh is the least affordable in Scotland with a ratio of 6.54.

In the last year average house price across all Scottish cities increased by 3.7%, from £190,250 in 2017 to £197,308 in 2018.

Average earnings increased by 3.3%, resulting in home affordability remaining broadly stable over the past 12 months – from 5.36 to 5.38 times average earnings.