Scotland’s cheapest areas for families buying homes revealed

SCOTLAND’S cheapest areas for families looking to buy a home have been revealed.

Estate agent Zoopla measured affordability by looking at the ratio of average three-bed house prices in locations, compared with average earnings in the local authority area.

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Its popularity ranking was based on the average number of Zoopla listing views for a typical three-bed home in each area, with the research based on the first quarter of 2025.

The website also commissioned a survey of 2,000 people across the UK by Opinium in April, which found around a third (34%) of people fear being priced out of their ideal family home location.

Scotland and Wales dominated the list of the most popular towns in Zoopla’s top 10.

The most popular cheap town to live in is Glenrothes, Fife, according to the property site.

The average price of a three-bedroom home in the area is just £136,900.

Wishaw is the fifth most popular cheap town to live in, at an average cost of £168,600.

This is followed by Leven at £164,600 and Larkhall at £177,600.

Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: “The willingness of many to consider different regions or compromise on property features further highlights the adaptive strategies families are employing in today’s market.”

Elsewhere, two Scottish regions were named among Britain’s most affordable places to rent a home.

Prices are being pushed up due to increase demand amid a shortage of available properties to rent.

But two locations north of the border rank in the top ten cheapest places for tenants.

Dumfries and Galloway placed second on the list of cheapest areas in the country.

the average renter forks out as little as £571 each month.

Meanwhile, East Ayrshire was named the third most affordable place to rent in the UK.