As affordability constraints force First Time Buyers to rethink where they can afford to live, reallymoving’s interactive Home Affordability Map reveals a new set of towns emerging as the UK’s most accessible housing market entry points.
The map shows the locations in each region, within a 60-minute commute of a major town or city, where buyers the average First Time Buyer budget for the region can afford the highest proportion of a 2-bedroom properties for sale – often more than 90%. While many locations remain unaffordable, in others almost the entire market of 2-bedroom homes is within reach, highlighting stark differences in affordability within just a few miles.
Homebuyers can search the map by budget and number of bedrooms to pinpoint the locations where they can access the greatest choice of properties, enabling buyers to home in on pockets of affordability within their search area – or pinpoint new locations they may previously have overlooked.
In leading hotspots such as Grimsby in Lincolnshire, where 99% of homes are within the average £154,000 budget of a FTB buying a 2-bedroom home locally, Burnley in Lancashire (98%) and Tonypandy in South Wales (94%), First Time Buyers are able to choose from the vast majority of 2-bedroom properties on the market, significantly improving their chances of success.
Even within more expensive regions such as London and the South East, there are hotspots where most of the market is within reach, including Erith in the London Borough of Bexley (92%), Barking in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (90%) and the coastal cities of Southampton (92%) and Portsmouth (84%) in Hampshire. These are established urban centres and commuter towns with a wide range of amenities and transport links.
Reallymoving Founder and CEO, Rob Houghton, said: “With affordability stretched and mortgage rates still high, First Time Buyers are under a great deal of pressure and many will assume they’ve been priced out of the market altogether. But affordability is much more localised than most people realise.
“By expanding their search by just a few miles and prioritising locations where they can access a wider pool of homes, First Time Buyers might be surprised at how much of the market they can access.
“Most of the hotspots we’ve identified are within established towns and cities, but buyers with hybrid or home working flexibility can unlock even greater buying power by searching further afield from major stations and transport hubs.
“It’s very much a buyers’ market at the moment and there are deals to be had at every price point – particularly with more landlords selling up as a consequence of the Renters’ Rights Act. By ensuring they’re searching in locations where they have plenty of choice, First Time Buyers have much better chance of finding a suitable property and negotiating a good deal.”
