East Dunbartonshire is the UK’s most affordable area for First Time Buyers (FTBs), according to the Bank of Scotland’s First Time Buyer Review.

The affluent region near Glasgow, which includes Bearsden, Milngavie and Bishopbriggs, has an average property price of £97,089 – 2.6 times local annual average gross earnings.

Government statistics show that mean earnings in East Dunbartonshire are £37,716 on average, around £5,000 more that the Scottish average of £32,472.

The new analysis by the Bank of Scotland looked at the house price to average earnings ratio and discovered that East Dunbartonshire was the most favourable to FTBs.

Nicola Noble, Mortgages Director at Bank of Scotland, said: “First Time Buyers are paying lower than Scottish average prices in East Dunbartonshire but their earnings are around £5,000 per annum higher which makes affordability relatively good.”

The bank also found that five of the UK’s ten most affordable Local Authority Districts (LADs) for FTBs are in Scotland.

Copeland in the North West of England is the UK’s second most affordable area (2.9), closely followed by East Renfrewshire (3.0), West Dunbartonshire and Stirling (both 3.1). North Lanarkshire is the UK’s eighth most affordable area (3.3).

Angus is Scotland’s least affordable LAD for FTBs, with a house price to average earnings ratio of 6.1. It is followed by Western Isles (5.8) and East Lothian (5.2).

The ten least affordable LADs in the UK for FTBs are all in London. The least affordable is Brent where the average FTB property price of £457,014 is 12.5 times gross average annual earnings in the area.

Nicola Noble said: “It’s great news for Scottish First Time Buyers that five of the UK’s most affordable areas are in Scotland, with East Dunbartonshire topping the table.

“Although many potential first time buyers are facing escalating house prices and deposit sizes, record low mortgage rates continue to make buying seem a more attractive option than renting.”

Meanwhile, the bank also found that the average Scottish FTB deposit in May 2016 was £21,7511 – less than the UK average of £33,960.

And the average age of a first time buyer in Scotland is 30; up from 28 in 2011. Regionally, the average age of a first time buyer is highest in London, where it is 32.