Looking for up-and-coming towns to move to? These are affordable towns with the most traction right now.
Sutton-in-Ashfield in the East Midlands takes the top spot by region, while Barking and Dagenham is for London, Bootle takes in the North West and Plymouth in the South West
Glenrothes in Scotland the most popular town for families seeking affordability across the whole of the UK
A three-bedroom home in Glenrothes is listed at £136,900 on average – around half the national average house price of £268,000
Affordability is based on a regional price-to-earnings ratio so you can find out how much you need to earn to buy a three-bed home by location
Research details a third of buyers are anxious about being priced out of the market
Experts have uncovered the most popular affordable towns for families, crowning Glenrothes in East-Central Scotland number one across the whole of the UK.
In Glenrothes, in the heart of Fife and just an hour from Edinburgh, you can expect to pay an average of £136,900 for a three-bed home – that’s £540 in monthly mortgage payments.
We examined the most affordable towns and then worked out which areas were getting the most interest from property-searchers on Zoopla.
We also calculated an income-to-affordability to ratio to help you work out if one of these places would meet your budget.
Most popular affordable towns for families by region
We looked at the most popular affordable towns by region, discovering that there are affordable places for families to live even in the most expensive UK regions.
Sutton-in-Ashfield in the East Midlands takes the top spot by region, with a three-bed home expected to cost £189,400 or £750 in monthly mortgage payments.
Barking and Dagenham is the most popular affordable area in London. For a three-bed home you’ll pay £1,750 in monthly mortgage payments, based on an average value of £440,300.
Bootle is the most popular affordable town in the North West, with three-bed homes valued at half the national average at £142,900.
Plymouth offers the best affordability for families in the South West of England, with three-bed homes averaging £261,000, or £1,040 per month in mortgage payments.
Here are the best places to live in each region of the UK for families, based on the average price of a three-bed home and the popularity of homes for sale there.
Town
Region
Avg 3-bed £
Estimated earnings*
Monthly mortgage £**
Price to earnings ratio***
Sutton-in Ashfield
East Midlands
£189,400
£67,100
£750
2.8
Tilbury
East of England
£347,800
£84,900
£1,380
4.1
Bedlington
North East
£154,800
£75,100
£610
2.1
Bootle
North West
£142,900
£76,400
£570
1.9
Glenrothes
Scotland
£136,900
£78,200
£540
1.8
Dartford
South East
£423,600
£90,800
£1,680
4.7
Plymouth
South West
£261,000
£70,100
£1,040
3.7
Llanelli
Wales
£170,600
£75,800
£680
2.3
Willenhall
West Midlands
£225,100
£68,100
£890
3.3
Dewsbury
Yorks&Humber
£192,000
£71,300
£760
2.7
Barking & Dagenham
London
£440,300
£79,400
£1,750
5.5
10 most popular affordable towns in the UK
Rank
Town
Region
Avg 3-bed £
Estimated earnings*
Monthly mortgage £**
Price to earnings ratio***
1
Glenrothes
Scotland
£136,900
£78,200
£540
1.8
2
Llanelli
Wales
£170,600
£75,800
£680
2.3
3
Neath
Wales
£176,400
£74,800
£700
2.4
4
Port Talbot
Wales
£160,300
£74,800
£640
2.1
5
Wishaw
Scotland
£168,600
£80,500
£670
2.1
6
Maesteg
Wales
£142,200
£71,400
£560
2.0
7
Dartford
South East
£423,600
£90,800
£1,680
4.7
8
Leven
Scotland
£164,600
£78,200
£650
2.1
9
Larkhall
Scotland
£177,600
£82,300
£700
2.2
10
Swanley
South East
£444,900
£95,100
£1,770
4.7
You’d need an estimated household income of £72,200 to afford a three-bed home in Glenrothes.
We discovered that it’s possible to buy a three-bed home for well under the national UK average house price of £268,000 in all but two of the towns on our list.
Four out of 10 of the most popular towns are in Scotland, including Wishaw (£168,600; £670 a month), Leven (£164,600; £650 a month) and Larkhall (£177,600; £700 a month).
Welsh towns take the second, third and fourth spots in our UK-wide list, with Llanelli (£170,600 on average; £680 monthly mortgage), followed by Neath ( £176,400; £700 a month) and Port Talbot (£160,300; £640 monthly).
Two places in the South East make an appearance – the Kent towns of Dartford and Swanley, whose relative affordability compared to other parts of the region make them popular places for families to live.
Perhaps unsurprisingly though, they are the priciest of the affordable towns on our list of family-friendly hotspots.
Families looking for a three-bed home in Dartford will need to pay an average of £1,680 in monthly mortgage payments, based on an average value of £423,600.
While anyone wanting a three-bed home in Swanley will need to pay £444,900 or £1,770 in monthly mortgage payments on average.
This latest analysis paints a clear picture of a market where affordability remains a critical factor for families planning their next home move”
What’s particularly telling is the level of buyer interest these towns are attracting; three-bedroom homes in the most popular affordable locations are seeing twice the amount of listing views compared to the regional average
This heightened popularity, coupled with the significant portion of would-be buyers expressing concerns about being priced out of housing, underscores the ongoing challenges facing movers and the clear appetite for value.
How we crunched the numbers
To hit upon our top 10 of affordable places for families to live, we looked at the most affordable areas nationally and then looked at the popularity of listings of three-bed homes in those areas.
We found that property listing views were twice as high for three-bed homes in the most popular affordable towns compared to the regional average for similar properties.
In order to work out affordability, we measured the ratio of average three-bed house prices in an area to average earnings in the local area.
In each region, 30% of towns with the lowest price-to-earnings ratios were selected, resulting in a final list of 248 towns, plus 10 London boroughs (used in place of postal towns for the capital).
Popularity was ranked based on the average listing views for a three-bed home in each area.
To estimate monthly mortgage repayments for a typical three-bed house in the town, we calculated the cost of a 20% deposit, a 30 year repayment period, with a mortgage rate of 4.3%
A third of buyers fear being priced out
Meanwhile, separate research reveals that a third of buyers are worried they can’t afford to buy in their ideal family home location.
According to a survey of 2,000 UK adults conducted in April, 34 per cent of buyers fear being priced out of their preferred area.
Of those surveyed, 37 per cent said they would be happy to move to an entirely new region in the UK in order to buy a more affordable family home.
The average monthly mortgage payment for a £304,600 three-bed home is currently £1,210. Those surveyed, however, said they felt £870 was a reasonable mortgage payment.
Two in five respondents said they were unwilling to move from their ideal location.
Those willing to move said they would only be willing to move an average of 41 minutes away.
