Merthyr Tydfil is the 8th most affordable area to live in the UK, according to new research

New research, conducted by PlumbNation, reveals that The Welsh borough of Blaenau Gwent ranked 1st as the least expensive Welsh local authority for homebuyers, with a square metre of property costing just £1,268 on average. The largely rural county borough covers a number of small towns such as Abertillery, Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale and Tredegar and is also partially covered by the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site.

Merthyr is also the 8th most affordable place to live in the UK.

The least expensive English authority is Burnley, in Lancashire. Burnley is actually the cheapest place in the country when it comes to average house prices in general, at £112,394. Combined with an average property size of 88 square metres, this equals a cost per square foot of just £1,277, which is over 20 times lower than some parts of central London.

Two of Burnley’s neighbouring areas, Hyndburn and Pendle, ranked 3rd and 4th with a marginal difference between the average cost per square metre. The median floor space in Hyndburn is 95 square metres, each with an average cost of £1,290.

Researchers found that the average property price across the UK is £271,368, with an average cost of £2,936 per square metre, but unsurprisingly all of the UK’s most expensive areas are located within London boroughs – with Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and the City of London in the top 3.

The most expensive non-London areas are all still located in the South – with Elmbridge, Mole Valley and Three Rivers (in Hertfordshire) ranking in the top 3.

You can read the full research here:https://www.plumbnation.co.uk/blog/bang-for-your-buck/

Image credit: By Jonathan Billinger, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13391359