Rent or buy - in Frome the choice for many is no choice at all.

A new research tool published in The Guardian newspaper showed that across the UK in nearly half of postcode districts the typical household cannot afford to buy a home, while in some of the same districts they can't afford, given the local wages, to rent either.

In Frome the picture is pretty harsh : The average price of a home in the town is six and a half times the average local income. Given that most banks put their affordability criteria at around four times an income, most buyers would need a substantial deposit, or be already selling a property to get a home in the town.

Which is probably why, across the UK, the average age of people buying their first home is now 34.

The data, which is sourced from the marketing services company TwentyCi, gives the most detailed picture yet of the asking prices in 2,400 British postcode districts in the year to 4 June, You can see the whole of the map of the UK HERE and compare prices including finding out which are the most expensive places locally to buy a home.

The Guardian writes: "The analysis casts light on just how inaccessible the housing market can be in certain parts of the country, especially London. A couple earning the median local wage are stretched beyond their means if they wish to rent or buy in 63% of the capital's postal districts. A further 36% of areas are affordable for the same couple to rent – but they will use up at least 20% of their combined wages in doing so."

Rent is not much better, the median rent, according to the newspaper, for postcode BA11 is just five pounds short of a thousand pounds.

The average male wage in the district of Mendip, was, in 2022, £34.4k, the highest of any across Somerset, and while this is only an average, it shows the increasing affordability gap of what people earn and whether they can afford to buy a home.

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The only places in the study where local wages are matched to local prices are in Weston super Mare, Yeovil, Crewkerne, and in Bristol, in the areas of Shirehampton, Hartcliffe and St Paul's.