One of the UK’s cheapest places to buy a home is in a small town near some of the country’s most desirable cities, a sparkling coastline, and some of the finest countryside available.
Cumnock in East Ayrshire, Scotland, is a dream come true for commuters due to its perfect location and relatively small population.
This town of just over 8,000 is less than an hour’s drive from Glasgow and even closer to the Firth of Clyde, the estuary that leads to the Hebrides and onto the Atlantic Ocean.
Despite the impressive local attractions, beautiful greenery and access to Scottish mountains, you might expect high property prices. However, property experts at Moving Waldo have dubbed it the third cheapest town in the UK.
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Moving Waldo found the average property buying cost in Cumnock is £194,006 and the average rent for a one-bed flat is £675.
Zoopla has also dubbed Cumnock one the cheapest places to live in the UK. Zoopla compared the average annual income of a couple living in the UK in 2023 to the median value of homes across the country.
Using data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), they discovered that all of the most affordable parts of the country are in northern England and Scotland.
The site found that, on average, couples living in Cumnock can expect to earn a combined salary of approximately £75,665 per year.
And they can find a home for roughly £79,030, less than £4,000 more than their annual paycheque, 1.04 times what they earn in a year.
Zoopla found the price makes Cumnock “almost four times more affordable than the UK average”.
For this price, you can easily reach Glasgow, which is just 38.8 miles or a quick 47-minute journey to the north, and the sandy beaches of Ayr are only 25 minutes to the west.
The town also boasts plenty of local attractions, including Dumfries House, Strathclyde Country Park, the Cumnock Heritage Centre, and the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum.
Cumnock isn’t the only affordable town out there, as Zoopla has identified nine others where future homeowners can find a good deal.
Sheldon, in northeast England, is also quite affordable for its residents, with couples earning an average of £65,438 per year, and homes valued at about £69,650.
Zoopla gave Sheldon a house price-to-earnings ratio of 1.06, while other towns on the list had ratios between 1.22 and 1.32.
