Housebuyers backed into a corner by Britain’s property bubble should head to County Durham – where the average home will set you back less than the cost of a family car.

Durham is home to seven of the UK’s cheapest streets – head to Peterlee and you can expect to spend as little as £14,600 for your place on the property ladder.

But it gets cheaper.

Port of Sunderland: A street in Washington, Sunderland could be a bargain for housebuyers

The least expensive street in England and Wales for the third year in a row has been named as Waterloo Walk in Sunderland, where flats sold for an average of £14,500 in 2015, down from £16,500 in 2015.

In contrast, a Mirror investigation has revealed the most expensive streets in England and Wales in 2016, with Lansdowne Crescent in Notting Hill, topping the list – where homes go for an average of £9.6 million.

Across the board, there were 1,451 streets in England and Wales where the average price was £1 million or more, up from 1,352 in 2015 and 1,411 in 2014.

Figures are based on data from the Land Registry, which lists the price paid for every residential property bought at market value which are then registered.

At present, the average house price deposit in the capital will set you back over £100,000 – compared to an estimated £18,324 in the North East – also home to a vast majority of Britain’s new builds .

If you are set on London – or require easy access to the capital, perhaps it’s time you considered Luton, which offers fast trains to King’s Cross in under 24-minutes, and average house prices at £256,636.

The county of Bedfordshire has emerged as Britain’s property hotspot in recent years with prices climbing almost a fifth in the last 12 months, according to banking giant Halifax.

The cheapest streets in England and Wales

1. Waterloo Walk, Sunderland, average price £14,600

2. Eleventh Street, County Durham, average price £17,019

3. Tees Street, County Durham, average price £17,078

4. Twelfth Street, County Durham, average price £18,467

5. Hollands Walk, Cheshire West and Chester, average price £18,817

6. Belgrave Walk, Conwy, average price £18,833

7. Seventh Street, County Durham, average price £19,250

8. Sixth Street, County Durham, average price £19,479

9. Hawthorn Street, County Durham, average price £19,800

10. Ashton Street, County Durham, average price £19,833

Britain’s most expensive streets (click image below to begin)

The UK’s most expensive streets revealed

6 schemes to help you buy faster

If you’re one of millions of people that don’t have access to family financial support, there are a range of schemes to help you take your first step on the ladder. We’ve outlined the key points below.

1. Help to buy

First-time buyers can open a help to buy ISA, which gives a 25% government bonus on amounts saved between £1,600 and £12,000 – although this is capped at £3,000.

It can be used for any property costing under £250,000 (£450,000 in London) and any mortgage.

You can save up to £1,000 in your first month, then up to £200 a month after that. You can choose to pay in less if you want, and it’ll still work.

Help to buy ISAs are only available to individuals. If you’re buying together, you can separately claim the government bonuses on your savings – and then combine the two to form a joint deposit.

Things to note:

• The deadline to open an account is December 2019. In April 2017, help to buy will relaunch to become the government’s lifetime ISA . You’ll be able to shift your money across tax-free.

• If you miss a contribution one month, you can’t make up for it in the following month (the cap is £200).

• If you’re buying together, but one of you is already a home owner. The first time buyer can still open an account.

• You need to get your solicitor to apply for the bonus when you buy a home. Alternatively, you can take the money out at any point, but if you choose this, you won’t qualify for the bonus.

• If you’re saving into a help to buy ISA you can’t save into another cash ISA in the same tax year.

2. Help to buy equity loan

The remaining part of help to buy is called the equity loan. It requires a minimum 5% deposit of the property value with the government offering an interest-free loan of a further 20%. The remaining 75% is covered by a standard mortgage.

As Zoopla explains, to buy a £200,000 property under the equity loan scheme, you’d need a minimum deposit of £10,000 and to qualify for a £150,000 mortgage. The government then provides an equity loan of £40,000.

How does it work?

• There is no interest to pay for the first 5 years.

• In year 6, interest (known as a ‘loan fee’) kicks in at 1.75%.

• The rate increases every year thereafter at the RPI (retail prices index) measure of inflation plus 1%.

The idea with the help to buy equity loan is that, because you’re theoretically only borrowing 75% from the mortgage lender, rates will be cheaper than on a 95% mortgage. But don’t assume that’s always the case. See our guide on first time buyer mortgages explained .

When you come to sell your home, the government will take back its 20% share.

This option is only available on new-build properties worth up to £600,000. The scheme will remain open until 2020.

3. Lifetime ISA

In his 2016 Budget, Philip Hammond announced a new lifetime ISA which will launch in April 2017. This will replace the current help to buy ISA – you’ll be able to shift your money across tax-free.

The account offers a tax-free boost of up to £1,000 a year towards either buying your first home or saving towards retirement.

Savers aged 40 or under can open these accounts, which will become available from April 2017. You can put away up to £4,000 each year. The government will then boost returns by 25p for every £1 saved at the end of each tax year.

If you’re a first time buyer, you can then opt to use your lifetime ISA cash as a deposit on a property worth up to £450,000.

4. Starter Homes scheme

In March 2015, the government proposed a new Starter Homes Initiative. In January this year, it said work on the new scheme had commenced.

This will see the creation of around 200,000 new ‘affordable’ homes, sold at a minimum discount of 20% to first-time home buyers aged between 23 and 40. Construction of these homes started in January 2017 – and the properties could be ready to sell as early as this time next year.

There’s a £250,000 price cap on homes available under the scheme, rising to £450,000 if you’re buying in London.

5. Shared Ownership

Shared Ownership schemes allow you to purchase just share of a home (between 25% and 75%) from a local Housing Association and pay rent – up to 3% – on the part you don’t own.

Under a process known as ‘staircasing’ you’ll then be given the chance to buy back chunks as and when you can afford to until you own 100% of the home. These chunks will be priced at the home’s current market value as assessed by the Housing Association. You will also have to pay a valuer’s fee each time.

To qualify for Shared Ownership, your household income must not exceed £80,000 or £90,000 if you’re buying in London.

6. Right to Buy

If you’ve lived in a council home for three years or more, you could be eligible for Right to Buy.

This scheme enables tenants to buy their home off the council at a significant discount. You can find out if you are eligible for the scheme here .

New rules launched last April furthered the discounts available to those making a Right to Buy purchase – the discounts now stand at £77,900 or £103,900 if you live in London.