Contrary to the doom-mongers, the UK property market has picked up again post-lockdown. But where should you be looking in order to get the biggest bang for your buck?

Well, according to a report by property portal Zoopla, you should be looking northwards – to County Durham and Ayrshire in Scotland, more specifically.

The portal based its findings on the cheapest places to live in the UK by comparing property prices to the average salary. Top of its findings was Shildon in County Durham where the average property comes in at around £60,000 for a two-bed terraced house and just £40,000 for a two-bed flat.

You will get a house with garden for an average of £74,000 in Cumnock, East Ayrshire where the earnings ratio is 2.39, thanks to the fact the average salary there is £31,000.

Lockdown has, of course, resulted in more employees than ever before working from home. And this means that these ‘out of the way’ towns and villages are becoming more practical locations to live in. Property there tends to be larger, more affordable and come with a decent-sized garden – making it much more of a bargain than an inner-city apartment.

After Shildon and Cumnock, Zoopla’s top locations were: Ferryhill in County Durham, Peterlee in County Durham and Cleator Moor in Cumbria.