Glasgow Tops as Best City for UK First Time Buyers

Aldermore’s new First Time Buyer (FTB) Appeal Index reveals Glasgow as the best city in the UK for first-time buyers
The Index is a comprehensive study of 50 cities across the UK, ranked by affordability, available housing stock and lifestyle considerations for first-time buyers
Scotland and cities in the North of England dominate this year’s Appeal Index, with Dundee and Aberdeen rounding out the top three; Liverpool and Edinburgh take fourth and fifth place
Chelmsford and Maidstone are ranked the least attractive of the major UK cities for first-time buyers, predominantly due to affordability concerns

Aldermore’s new First Time Buyer Appeal Index¹, analysing 50 cities across the UK to understand the best places for first-time buyers, found Glasgow currently takes the top-spot.

The Appeal Index looks at 10 indicators across two key pillars – property and lifestyle – that impact first-time buyer desirability. Please see Notes to Editors for further explanation.

Aldermore’s First Time Buyer Appeal Index’s top 10 ‘hotspots’:

Ranking	City	Region	Overall Score
1	Glasgow	Scotland	78
2	Dundee	Scotland	69
3	Aberdeen	Scotland	65
4	Liverpool	North West	65
5	Edinburgh	Scotland	64
6	Swansea	Wales	60
7	Newcastle	North East	60
8	Coventry	West Midlands	58
9	Leeds	Yorkshire	58
10	Newport	Wales	58

[Table of all 50 cities included in notes to editors]

Glasgow leads the way

Glasgow has taken the top spot in this year’s Appeal Index, performing notably well in the property pillar with a score of 90. Opportunities to move up the property ladder are promising, with an average first-time buyer selling price of £141,644 and an annual house price increase of 6.5%. First-time buyers are successfully getting their foot on the property ladder, making up two thirds (64%) of sales in the city.

Glasgow fared less well when it comes to lifestyle, with a score of 67. With over a quarter (28.3%) of the population aged between 25-35, the city offers attractive job prospects for younger buyers, with graduates making up over half (52%) of the workforce, taking home an average of £32,604 in full time pay. However, longer commute times (20 minutes on average) and lower life satisfaction (score of 24) constrained Glasgow’s appeal from a first-time buyer perspective.

Liverpool boasts promising homebuying prospects

Liverpool was the only English city in this year’s index which made the top five, coming in at 4^th place with an overall score of 65. The city attracts first-time buyers with affordable selling prices (£141,815 on average) coupled with strong annual increases in house prices (6.1%) and reasonable deposit requirements making homebuying more attainable. The city also boasts a strong population aged between 25-35, however lifestyle appeal is limited, being ranked the lowest for overall life satisfaction and with unexceptional salary prospects (£30,670 on average).

Other cities in the top 10 include Swansea and Newcastle, which have the same overall score of 60, taking 6^th and 7^th place respectively. Swansea performed noticeably better than Newcastle on the property pillar, offering decent selling prices and house price growth, with first-time buyers making up a strong proportion of sales in the city (59%).

However, Newcastle fared better on lifestyle considerations with a stronger population of 25-35 year olds, better salary prospects and better overall life satisfaction (scores of 55 vs 43). Rounding out the top 10, Coventry, Leeds and Newport took this year’s 8^th, 9^th and 10^th places respectively with the same overall score of 58.

The ‘notspots’ for first-time buyers revealed

Southern cities in the UK failed to make this year’s top 10 largely due to a lack of affordable options for first-time buyers. This saw the South overrepresented in the bottom of the Index, even though lifestyle and wellbeing scores for these cities were relatively high when compared to the wider Index. The highest-ranking cities in the South were Portsmouth (13), Southampton (19), Norwich (22), Cambridge (25) and Bristol (26).

Aldermore’s First Time Buyer Appeal Index’s lowest-ranking cities:

Ranking	City	Region	Overall Score
50	Maidstone	South East	25
49	Chelmsford	East	31
48	Basildon	East	34
47	Bournemouth	South West	34
46	Luton	East	35
45	Swindon	South West	36
44	Northampton	East Midlands	37
43	Southend	East	40
42	London	London	40
41	Milton Keynes	South East	42

Jon Cooper, head of mortgage distribution at Aldermore said: “While some of the cities lower on our Index might have a lot to offer in terms of lifestyle, for many younger buyers in these areas, higher prices might make owning your own home feel unattainable.

“The past two years have brought to the fore the reality that for many people, finances are not always straightforward. Having gaps in employment, less than perfect credit or an inconsistent income shouldn’t penalise borrowers or rule them out of owning their own home. At Aldermore, we help first-time buyers and other borrowers who don’t fit the cookie cutter mould of other lenders, by digging into the detail of each individual application in order to better understand a borrower’s financial picture and help realise their homebuying dreams.”

**Ends**

Notes to editors

Aldermore’s First Time Buyer Appeal Index 2022 Top 50 Ranking Table:

Ranking	City	Region	Overall Score
1	Glasgow	Scotland	78
2	Dundee	Scotland	69
3	Aberdeen	Scotland	65
4	Liverpool	North West	65
5	Edinburgh	Scotland	64
6	Swansea	Wales	60
7	Newcastle	North East	60
8	Coventry	West Midlands	58
9	Leeds	Yorkshire	58
10	Newport	Wales	58
11	Manchester	North West	58
12	Leicester	East Midlands	57
13	Portsmouth	South East	57
14	Cardiff	Wales	56
15	Wolverhampton	West Midlands	56
16	Derby	East Midlands	55
17	Nottingham	East Midlands	54
18	Stoke	West Midlands	54
19	Southampton	South East	53
20	Barnsley	Yorkshire	51
21	Wigan	North West	50
22	Norwich	East	50
23	Sheffield	Yorkshire	50
24	Hull	Yorkshire	50
25	Cambridge	East	50
26	Bristol	South West	50
27	Birmingham	West Midlands	49
28	Belfast	Northern Ireland	49
29	Telford	West Midlands	48
30	Sunderland	North East	48
31	Doncaster	Yorkshire	48
32	Wakefield	Yorkshire	47
33	Brighton	South East	47
34	Plymouth	South West	47
35	Warrington	North West	46
36	York	Yorkshire	46
37	Reading	South East	45
38	Oxford	South East	44
39	Peterborough	South East	44
40	Bradford	Yorkshire	44
41	Milton Keynes	South East	42
42	London	London	40
43	Southend	East	40
44	Northampton	East Midlands	37
45	Swindon	South West	36
46	Luton	East	35
47	Bournemouth	South West	34
48	Basildon	South West	34
49	Chelmsford	East	31
50	Maidstone	South East	25

¹Aldermore’s First Time Buyer Appeal Index was designed by Opinium and comprises 10 key indicators across two pillars. The index uses a series of secondary data sources including ONS, Census, NOMIS and other official housing statistics.

Property Pillar indicators:

Average FTB selling price
Average increase in FTB price
FTBs as a share of sales
Average FTB deposit/x average income

Lifestyle Pillar indicators:

Percentage of population aged 25-35
Average commute time
Restaurants and pubs per 10 thousand people
Average life satisfaction
Percentage of workforce graduates
Average full time pay

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