# The towns where a couple can still buy a home for less than two years’ salary

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-towns-where-a-couple-can-still-buy-a-home-for-less-than-two-years-salary/
- Published: 2026-11-06T08:03:51+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-06T08:18:59+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/money/mortgageshome/article-16268873/The-towns-couple-buy-home-two-years-salary.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Business, Companies, UK, World

## Key points

- Shildon has the lowest price-to-earnings ratio at 1.15.
- County Durham’s three top-ranked towns all have average prices below £100,000.
- London remains the least affordable region, at 6.11 times household earnings.

## Summary

Shildon in County Durham is Britain’s most affordable town in the analysis, with the average home costing about £73,600, or 1.15 times the annual earnings of a local couple working full-time. The findings highlight how much housing affordability varies across Britain, with northern England and Scotland offering far lower price-to-earnings ratios than London and the south-east.

Ferryhill and Peterlee, also in County Durham, rank second and third, with average prices of £91,500 and £96,500 respectively. Of 929 towns analysed, 36 had home values below twice local household earnings; Scotland accounted for almost two-thirds of them. Across all towns, the average home cost £299,100, or 4.3 times annual household earnings of about £69,600. Zoopla said slower house-price growth has helped affordability, though higher mortgage rates still raise monthly costs.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.