The report found that Edinburgh continues to have the highest house price to earnings ratio at 5.9. At the same time, average house prices in the capital are significantly higher than in other parts of Scotland.

Nationwide also found that East Ayrshire is one of the most affordable local authorities in Scotland, with average first-time buyer house prices just 2.4 times average earnings.

The report indicated that Aberdeen continued to see the greatest improvement in affordability, with average first-time buyer House Price to Earnings Ratio (HPER) declining from 4.6 to 3.4 in the last five years.

This is predominately due to the 22% fall in prices over the period.

Affordability gains in other regions have been more modest. Overall, 25% of local authorities in Great Britain have seen an improvement in affordability compared with 2016, while first-time buyer house price-earnings ratios have risen in 72% of authorities, with the balance unchanged.

Nationwide identified Kensington and Chelsea as the least affordable local authority in London and by extension Great Britain, with a HPER of 14.7.

Andrew Harvey, senior economist at Nationwide said that the Affordability Report identified that “affordability was becoming more stretched across all regions” in the UK.

He added that the report helps to “illustrate the challenge that many first time buyers across the country face, in terms of raising a deposit to purchase their first home.”

He concluded that the cost of servicing a mortgage as a share of take-home pay is now above its long-run average in the majority of UK regions.