Mapped: Lloyds reveals 10 cheapest areas to buy a house – prices below £160,000 | Personal Finance | Finance

The cheapest places to buy a home in the UK have been revealed, with prices below £160,000. Lloyds has released new analysis that examines the average price paid by first-time homebuyers in local areas across the country.

The top 10 is dominated by locations in Scotland and the North of England, where prices remain significantly below the UK average. In all those areas, buying with the new £5,000 first-time buyer mortgage from Lloyds could result in a monthly mortgage cost of less than £1,000.

With an average first-time buyer price of £147,353, East Ayrshire tops the list. The area brings together market towns, former mining communities and rural villages. Homes range from characterful older properties to regeneration developments and family-friendly neighbourhoods. The area is well connected to Scotland’s central belt, with direct routes into Glasgow and nearby employment hubs.

The most affordable location for first-time buyers in Wales is Merthyr Tydfil, with homes there costing an average of £156,498. In Northern Ireland, it’s Mid and East Antrim, where a first home typically costs £175,308. In England, the most affordable area is Blackpool, where people buying their first home pay an average of £150,780.

The average age of a first-time buyer in the UK is now 32, two years older than a decade ago but unchanged over the past year. However, in some parts of the country, buyers are getting on the ladder much earlier.

In the 10 areas with the youngest first-time buyers, the average age falls to 27, highlighting pockets of affordability that are particularly attractive to Gen Z.