Bank of Scotland: City homes less affordable

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-32071279

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The typical city home in Scotland has become less affordable in the past year, according to a new report.

The Bank of Scotland found the average price for a city home - £175,962 - stood at 5.24 times gross annual average earnings.

This was a 7% increase on last year but still significantly below the peak of 6.12 in 2008.

City living in Scotland was found to be more affordable than the UK city average.

The bank's Affordable Cities Review indicated that affordability was now at the same level as in 2006 but 14% lower than at the height of the last housing market boom.

The report suggested that the overall improvement since 2008 had been caused by a combination of an average house price decline of 6% and a 10% increase in average annual earnings.

Stirling remained the UK's most affordable city for a second year, despite a deterioration in affordability over the past year.

The average property price there of £158,645 was 3.85 times gross average annual earnings in the city.

Stirling was followed by Glasgow and Dundee as Scotland's most affordable cities.

In contrast, Edinburgh was Scotland's least affordable city, with the average house price sitting at £216,424 - or 6.11 times gross annual average earnings.

Aberdeen recorded the biggest price rise of any UK city over the past decade, with a gain of 88%.

Bank of Scotland said that was a result of rising housing demand due to the strong performance of the oil and gas sector over most of the period.

More recently, London has recorded the highest house price growth, with a rise of 40% during the past five years followed by Winchester (39%) and Cambridge (37%).