A town in south Wales has been named among Britain's most affordable places to live by Zoopla.

Around 47% of prospective first-time buyers cited affordability as a major hurdle in a recent report by Zoopla, commissioned by Santander.

With this in mind, the property experts analysed house value-to-earnings ratios, based on a two-earner household on an average salary for the local area, to come up with a list of the most affordable places to live.

The best places to live, when it comes to affordability, were found to be Cumnock in East Ayrshire and Shildon, County Durham, where the average price is 1.1 times typical household earnings.

Most expensive UK cities to buy a house in

National Association of Estate Agents Propertymark president Toby Leek said: “Affordability for many is a real issue and, as purse strings remain tightened despite easing factors such as slight drops in inflation, prospective and current home-owners will be looking to enter the market with caution, but also, in some cases, further flexibility in where they nest themselves.

“As many people no longer have the restriction of basing themselves from a static office full-time, they are able to look elsewhere to actually step on to the housing ladder for the first time or find their next, more affordable dream home.”

Most affordable places to live in Britain

The most affordable places to live in Britain, according to Zoopla, are:

  • East Midlands - Gainsborough
  • East of England - Wisbech
  • South East - Dover
  • South West - Plymouth
  • Wales - Ferndale
  • West Midlands - Stoke-On-Trent
  • Yorkshire and the Humber - Hull
  • London - Croydon
  • North East - Shildon
  • North West - Workington
  • Scotland - Cumnock

What makes Ferndale one of the most affordable places to live

Ferndale was found to be among the top three most affordable place to live in Britain, according to Zoopla.

RECOMMENDED READING:

The town, based in Rhondda Cynon Taf, was found to have a 1.5 house value-to-earnings ratio.

This was behind only Cumnock and Shildon - who both boasted the most affordable ratio of 1.1.

The household income (based on two earners) in Ferndale was said to be £101,600, while the average house value was £67,700.