There are 17 towns and cities in the UK where it is possible to buy a flat for less than £80,000, which is just under three times the average UK salary, according to research by Housesimple.

The online estate agents looked at the latest Land Registry figures for flats sold recently in major UK towns and cities, to find where the best value areas are for buyers looking to climb onto the first rung of the property ladder.

The north-west and north-east came out on top, with Burnley offering the best value for buyers. The average sold price of a flat in Burnley was just £54,161, the best priced anywhere in the UK. Hartlepool (£57,659), is the only other town where the average price of a flat was under £60,000.

And 18 out of the 20 most affordable towns or cities in the UK to purchase a flat were located in the north of England. Stoke-on-Trent and Mansfield, both in the Midlands, were the only towns outside the north that featured in the list.

There are no towns or cities in the south of England where the average sold price of a flat was less  than £100,000 according to the latest Land Registry figures. Swindon offers the best value in the south, with the average price of a flat under £150,000 at £140,847.

In London, there are three boroughs where the average price of a flat is under £250,000 – these are Havering (£232,536), Barking and Dagenham (£234,655)  and Bexley (£239,366). Kensington and Chelsea was the only borough where the average sold price of a flat was over £1 million.

The following table shows the most affordable 20 towns and cities in the UK, in terms of the average sold price of a flat:

Sam Mitchell, CEO of Housesimple, said: “The north of England continues to offer great value for money across the board; whether you’re a first time buyer looking for a starter flat, to families looking for that forever home.

“With plenty of stock coming onto the market at affordable levels in the north west and north east, at prices that are just three or four times the average UK salary, home ownership is a reality not a pipe-dream.

“Our research also brings into sharp relief the issues facing buyers in the south, where more and more people, including young families, are joining ‘Generation Rent’ as they struggle to save a sizeable deposit to afford even a basic one-bedroom flat.”