Wolverhampton is good place for second step homes

Wolverhampton is ranked as the sixth most affordable place in the UK for second stepper couples looking to buy their first family home.

Published Aug 27, 2014

Research carried out by property search engine Placebuzz.com found the price difference for a move from a one or two-bedroom flat to a terraced or semi-detached house in the city is £28,768 or 29.2 per cent.

Homeowners on the first rung of the property ladder in Swansea had the smallest percentage jump to the second rung. The average price of a one to two bedroom flat in Swansea is £133,561, compared to £146,448 for a terraced or semi-detached house – a price difference of just £12,887, which is around 57 per cent of the average annual salary in Swansea, which stands at £22,829.

In Wolverhampton the average salary is £22,475 with the price difference equivalent to 128 per cent.

Edinburgh was least affordable for second steppers, with average price difference of 124.7 per cent between flat and first house and in London the price difference is £463,580.

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The problem of second stepping is said to have forced couples across the UK to stay in their first properties, which are often flats, much longer than they would like

The east of England came out as the most affordable region of the country for second stepper couples, with Norwich and Ipswich featuring in the top three places for most affordable second stepper towns or cities. The average percentage price difference between a terraced/semi-detached house compared to a flat in Norwich and Ipswich is 18.4 per cent and 19.5 per cent respectively.