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

The cheapest places to buy a house in England have been revealed for prices under £160,000. Lloyds has published new analysis examining the average price paid by first-time homebuyers in local areas across the country.

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

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

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

The average age of first-time shoppers in the UK is now 32, two years older than a decade ago, but has remained unchanged in the past year. But in some parts of the country, buyers are stepping onto that ladder much earlier.

In the 10 regions with the youngest first-time shoppers, the average age drops to 27, highlighting the affordable pockets that are particularly attractive to Gen Z.