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Revealed: find out the cheapest and most expensive areas to live in the UK

The most affordable postcodes in the UK have been revealed by an interactive tool which swept 2,643 to find the cheapest.

Can you afford to buy property in your local area? A new online tool shows users how much people would need to earn to acquire a home in each UK postcode.

The vast differences in what people need to earn will raise eyebrows, with those living in Ferndale, South Wales, only needing to earn £4.03 per hour in order to afford a property there, whilst those wanting to own their own home in Virginia Water, Surrey, need to earn £84.84 in order to get a foot on the housing ladder.

The team web-blinds.com have taken the average cost of houses in each of Britain’s 2,650 postcodes and worked out the mortgage repayments based on having a 20% deposit and taking a 25 year term with a 2.63% interest rate.

According to research conducted for the tool, the top 10 most affordable areas to live in the UK emerged as follows:

  1. Ferndale, South Wales – £4.03 (income needed per hour to own a home here)
  2. New Tredegar, South Wales – £4.44
  3. Treorchy, South Wales – £4.86
  4. Moor Row, Cumbria – £5.13
  5. Stevenston, North Ayreshire – £5.30
  6. Sanquhar, Dumfries & Galloway – £5.42
  7. Tonypandy, South Wales – £5.42
  8. Abertillery, South Wales – £5.46
  9. Mountain Ash, South Wales – £5.48
  10. Pentre, South Wales – £5.53

What’s more, the top 10 most expensive areas were as follows:

  1. Virginia Water, Surrey – £84.84
  2. Cobham, Surrey – £74.76
  3. Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire – £70.58
  4. Radlett, Hertfordshire – £68.75
  5. Central London, London – £63.72
  6. Esher, Surrey – £62.13
  7. Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire – £61.77
  8. Northwood, London – £57.81
  9. Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire – £57.77
  10. Ascot, Berkshire – £56.06

“Being able to see in monetary figures the huge difference between what someone would need to earn to buy a property in the most and least affordable areas of the country is pretty shocking to see,” said Melissa Benedict, spokesperson for web-blinds.com

“The tool has analysed every postcode in the UK, so employers might need to prepare themselves for members of staff asking for pay rises once they’ve had a go,” she added.