Ceredigion the least affordable county in the UK for first time buyers

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00:00Owen lives in an off-grid co-operative house near Eglwys Fach in Ceredigion.

00:06He pays rent and, along with the other tenants, also maintains the property.

00:10He grew up in Ceredigion, and while he'd like to buy a house there, he says that's impossible.

00:15I have thought about it and looked at it, and it seems so insurmountable to me, given

00:22the kind of my own economic situation, but also the vast inequality that seems to be

00:29in the system and how hard it is to compete with cash buyers from London or people who

00:34can sort of snap places up right at the last minute.

00:36I see it having a far wider effect on the Welsh language and Welsh culture and the ability

00:42of young people who've grown up in Ceredigion who are carrying all that to stay in the places

00:47where they've grown up.

00:48Owen isn't alone.

00:49Others spoke about their own circumstances on Aberystwyth's High Street.

00:53I work in Morrisons, and my partner works in the hospital, and even with the combined

00:59income we find it difficult to rent, never mind trying to buy.

01:04One of those things that doesn't really seem like it's going to be a possibility, well

01:07not anytime soon anyway, it's one of those things you kind of dream of having, you never

01:13know if it's going to happen really, it's a lot of money to put together.

01:17To try and help, Llynos rents out two properties near Llandysil at up to 30% lower than the

01:22local rental market.

01:24It's not a conscious discount, it's more of a conscious, moralistic standpoint of making

01:29sure that you can afford the property to live in.

01:31I did a research project in the last year, two years, looking at rental and purchasing

01:37of properties in Ceredigion.

01:39A one, two bedroom property was around £250,000 to £300,000.

01:45According to the Affordability Index, fewer than 3% of first time buyers from Ceredigion

01:50can afford a house there.

01:52The situation is similar in Powys and Pembrokeshire, and Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire

01:57are also in the 10 least affordable areas of Britain for local first time buyers.

02:02Ceredigion has the 7th lowest median income in Great Britain.

02:07Now what's important is while average house prices across Wales are lower than in Scotland

02:13and in England, areas like Ceredigion and Powys have relatively high prices for Wales,

02:20and this creates particularly difficult conditions for those dreaming of getting their first

02:24home in those areas.

02:26I think generally for the first time buyers, it's very difficult.

02:29You've got options of staying with mum and dad, and then obviously you have the bank

02:34of mum and dad to help to get deposits together, that kind of thing.

02:37You can be working and then it's slightly cheaper.

02:41Or you are in rented, and of course rented accommodation is very expensive, and all the

02:46money that you tend to earn tends to go onto that, so it's very hard to save.

02:51Ceredigion Council said it is exceeding its target of ensuring 20% of all new houses across

02:56the county are affordable, while Welsh Government said it has extended the Help to Buy Wales

03:01scheme, which has helped more than 14,500 people.