TWO cities in the North-East are among the top 20 most affordable in the UK, according to new research.

Sunderland came in at number ten and Durham followed closely behind at 14 in the list compiled by Lloyds Bank.

The study looked at the most and least affordable cities using the average price-to-earnings ratio.

But the findings of ultimately found city living it at its least affordable levels for home buyers since 2007 - with average house prices in a UK city in 2018 equating to 7.2 times the average annual earnings.

Andrew Mason, mortgage products director at Lloyds Bank, said: “Buying a home in UK cities remains challenging, as average house prices are outpacing wage growth.”

He added: “Home owners are still attracted to cities across the UK, in spite of rising costs.”

The average home in a city cost £248,233 while average full-time earnings stood at £34,366.

Lloyds Bank found seven cities where the average house price tops ten times the earnings.

However, in Sunderland house prices were found to be 5.2 times the earnings while in Durham the figure is 5.5.

The index tracked housing affordability in 62 cities across the UK using Lloyds’ sister bank Halifax’s housing statistics and Office for National Statistics (ONS) earnings figures.