Five cheapest places to buy a house in the UK - Times Money Mentor (2024)

While UK house prices have been falling, they still remain almost 20% above pre-pandemic levels, according to Halifax. Here are the cheapest places to buy a home and rent in the UK right now.

Since the onset of the pandemic, house prices and private rental costs have been turbocharged. But the consensus is that house prices are likely to fall over the next year. The picture for tenants is more complicated.

Mortgage costs, which have been rising with interest rates, could also drop 25% by the end of this year, the wealth manager Quilter reports. But remember, it is not all about price when you move to a new area, you want to know that you will be happy there.

According to the property portal Zoopla, the cheapest places for buying a property in the UK are all located in Scotland and the northeast of England.

In this article, we cover:

• Where are the five cheapest places to buy a home in 2023?
• Where are the five cheapest places to rent in 2023?
• Will it be cheaper to buy or rent in 2023?
• How do I find the cheapest places to live?
• What is the difference in council tax across the country?
• The happiest places to live in the UK

Read more: What is a 100% mortgage and can I get one?

Five cheapest places to buy a home in 2023

The average UK house price was £288,000 in June 2023, £5,000 higher than 12 months ago, but £5,000 below the peak in November 2022, according to the latest official figures.

For those seeking value – and as long as they are convenient for commitments such as work – the cheapest areas in which to buy are all, says Zoopla, in Scotland and the northeast of England.

These are the five cheapest places to buy in the UK, according to Zoopla:

• Inverclyde. Located in west-central Scotland, this is the smallest local authority in Scotland, with a population of about 80,000. Average house prices in this scenic area, with good transport links to Glasgow and the rest of Scotland, are £101,400 – a rise of 4% over the year to January 2023.
• East Ayrshire. In this former manufacturing region, close to Glasgow and famous in the past for coal mining and textiles, house prices went up by an average of 4.1% to £102,700 in the year to January 2023.
• West Dunbartonshire. Located west of Glasgow, average house prices in this region sit at £108,800, up 3.8%. West Dunbartonshire is home to Loch Lomond, the largest lake in Britain by surface area.
• Hartlepool. This seaside and port town in County Durham is the cheapest place to buy in England. With its origins in the seventh century and home to one of the largest breweries in the UK, Camerons Brewery, house price growth in Hartlepool was up 5.1% to an average of £110,800 in the year to January 2023.
• North Ayrshire. Positioned in the southwest of Scotland and bordering Inverclyde and East Ayrshire, this council area also covers the Isle of Arran and the Cumbrae Isles. The average property price in this historic and scenic area is £111,300, a 3% increase.

If you are looking to buy outside Scotland and the northeast, Burnley in Lancashire comes eighth on Zoopla’s list of where house prices are cheapest.

Famous for excellence in the manufacturing and aerospace industries, and with strong economic and transport links to Manchester and Leeds, Burnley property prices average £116,500, up 5% on January 2022.

Where have house prices gone up the most?

The places where house prices have gone up the most aren’t necessarily the most expensive locations in which to buy.

House price growth is strong in Greater Manchester, where previously prices were much lower – so the increase appears larger.

Buyers who left the urban life for the country during the pandemic are heading back and finding value in well-connected towns on the outskirts of cities.

These are the places where house prices went up the most in the year to January 2023, according to Zoopla:

• Wigan, Greater Manchester: 9.0%, or £13,550, to £164,700
• Wychavon, Worcestershire: 8.6%, or £25,430, to £320,700
• Oldham, Greater Manchester: 8.6%, or £13,630, to £172,300
• Malvern Hills, sitting in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire: 8.5%, or £26,200, to £335,200
• Rochdale, Greater Manchester: 8.5%, or £12,810, to £164,100

Five cheapest places to rent in 2023

Wales is the cheapest region in the UK for renting a home, according to the estate agency Hamptons, while London is the most expensive. The average monthly cost of renting a new let is £800 in Wales, compared to £3,000 in inner London.

Average asking rents across the capital were up an average of 15% in January this year, compared to the same time in 2022, hitting a record £2,480 per month, says the property website Rightmove. The national UK average hit a record at £1,172 in February 2023.

These are the five cheapest places to rent in the UK, according to Hamptons.

• East Ayrshire, Scotland: £530
• Hartlepool, County Durham: £530
• Burnley, Lancashire: £540
• Inverclyde, Scotland: £560
• Hyndburn, Lancashire: £570

*Based on average rental prices per month.

These are the cheapest regions to rent in the UK, according to Hamptons:

• Wales: £800
• North of England: £800
• Scotland: £820
• Midlands: £864

*Based on average rental prices per month.

Will it be cheaper to rent or buy this year?

In the past, it was common for young people to rent for a period while they saved for a deposit to buy their first home. But with rental prices reaching record highs last year, that has been very difficult for many.

While it depends on where in the UK you are looking to rent, the signs for tenants this year aren’t looking good.

The number of UK homes available to rent has fallen by a third since September 2021, which has helped drive rents up for new tenants by 11%, according to Zoopla.

The property site expects rents to continue to rise this year while house prices appear to be heading in the opposite direction.

It expects prices to fall 5% by the summer – wiping out the 5.3% rise in prices in the year to January 2023. We explore this further and where house prices might head next.

Looking to buy a home? Try our mortgage comparison tool

How do I find the cheapest properties?

To find the cheapest homes to rent or buy, you could set up an alert on Rightmove and Zoopla, the two biggest property portals.

A good tip is to choose a fixed radius for the postcode you want to live in, and then arrange a price alert for that area. This will filter the search results for the type of homes you want to see.

You can request to be notified as soon as a property that meets your criteria comes onto the market.

Equally, if you are open to different locations, you could set up a search based on a keyword, and look in several areas at once.

Alternatively, you could give some thought to buying a property at auction. But note that while this might be a good way to pick up a bargain, it can also be riddled with pitfalls, so it’s vital to do your research.

Often the cheapest way to rent is sharing. Spareroom.com is a good place to find available rooms in homes within your chosen area.

Where is the cheapest place for council tax?

Council tax is likely to be a significant extra cost that you need to factor in when moving to a new area. Check to see what discounts you might be entitled to.

The average council tax across England is set to rise to over £2,000 a year from April. That’s an increase of £100 more a year for those living in Band D – a record 5.1% rise.

How much you will pay will depend on what band you are in (H is the highest) and where in the country you live.

The most expensive areas for council tax in England are as follows:

• Rutland, East Midlands (H): £4,843
• Nottingham, East Midlands (H): £4,823
• Lewes, East Sussex (H): £4,776
• Dorset, southwest England (H): £4,776
• Wealden, East Sussex (H): £4,726

While property prices and rents are highest in London, the cheapest places for council tax are all in the capital.

For example, the average property price in Kensington and Chelsea – the most expensive area in the UK – is £1,190,300. The average council tax for a band D property there is £1,364.47 – over £600 cheaper than the UK average.

The cheapest areas for council tax in England are as follows:

• Westminster (Band A): £614
• Wandsworth (A): £614
• City of London (A): £764
• Hammersmith and Fulham (A): £871
• Kensington and Chelsea (A): £962

Where are the happiest places to live?

Money isn’t everything when it comes to choosing where to live.

If happiness is what you are after then St Ives takes top spot in Rightmove’s “Happy at Home” index, now in its eleventh year. The survey asks residents how they feel about where they live:

1. St Ives, Cornwall

The residents of St Ives scored the area highly for its community spirit and sense of belonging. This Cornish gem also boasts three award-winning beaches.

Since the pandemic, demand for properties in coastal areas such as St Ives has vastly outstripped supply.

Rightmove figures show the average asking price for a home here is £523,731. The average rent per calendar month is £1,152.

2. Galashiels, Scottish Borders

Galashiels, the largest of the border towns, takes second place in the list. It is the first time an area in Scotland has made it into the top three since 2016.

The area is a popular location for families, while being a reasonable distance from Edinburgh for commuters. It scored especially highly for the “friendliness and politeness of people”.

According to Rightmove, the average asking price is £153,546, and the average rent is £530.

3. Woodbridge, east of England

Woodbridge scored particularly highly for its access to nature and green spaces, and for the polite and friendly locals. The average asking price in this Suffolk market town is £481,978 and the average rent is £1,196.

4. Hexham, northeast

The town of Hexham has alternated with St Ives for the top spot since 2019, taking the crown last year. Residents love its access to green spaces and felt that they could be themselves there. The average home here will set you back £262,265 and the average rent is £810.

5. Perth, Scotland

Perth was the second of three Scottish areas to rank in the top 10, with Stirling coming in at ninth. Residents were happy with its scenic surroundings and affordable house prices. The average home in Perth costs £179,410, while the average rent is £812.

If you are wondering where in Wales is the happiest place to live, it is Anglesey which came seventh behind Harrogate in Yorkshire. Here, the average asking price is £324,048, and the average rent is £766.

If you are wondering whether now is a good time to buy a house, we weigh up the pros and the cons in our article and outline what the experts think will happen to prices and mortgage rates.