House priceshave had a bumper year in the UK, rising an impressive 10.8% between December2020 and December 2021 to an average price of £275,000.
Indeed, estateagency Savills have confirmed that the mass migrationfrom cities in favour of more ruralclimes during the pandemic era has resulted in an extensive rise in millionpound properties outside the capital. Indeed, of the homes which topped the £1million mark for the first time in 2021, over 80 per cent were outside ofLondon and an impressive 1 in every 42 homes now costs £1 million+ in the UK.
Has thismeteoric rise in house prices meant that buyers have been completely priced outof their preferred locations though? Or are there still places where you canfind a property bargain? Read on to find out where the cheapest house prices inthe UK can be found.
The townwith the cheapest house prices in the UK
Drumrollplease! Taking the top spot with the most affordable house prices in the UK sofar in 2022 (and for the second year in a row) is the unassuming North East railwaytown of Shildon in County Durham, which offers a veryaffordable average house price of £80,299.
For a veryreasonable price of £59,561, you can pick up a terraced home in Shildon and semi-detachedand detached properties average around £73,363 and £203,567, respectively.
The North East regionhas always been a much more affordable proposition than its pricey neighboursto the South East, so this is perhaps unsurprising. Although as steep propertyprice increases have begun to stabilise in many parts of the UK following theend of the temporary reduction to stamp duty rates on 31 September 2021, it isinteresting to see that the North East continues to see a healthy rise in asking prices, with a 2.5% monthlyincrease in January 2022. As does the East Midlands (with a 1.1% increase) andthe South West (2.4%), suggesting that buyers are continuing to eschew the moreurban and expensive UK towns and cities, pushing up demand, and subsequentlyhouse prices, elsewhere.
However, withan average asking price of £165,277 versus a national average of £341,019 inJanuary 2022, the North East region remains one of the most affordable parts ofthe UK to buy a home currently.
A round upof UK regions by affordably* (by sold price):
When it comesto overall affordability, Northern Ireland tops the list with a very reasonableaverage sold price of £159,109. Considerably less than the UK’s overall averageprice of £275,000 and that of pricey London (£673,238).
- NorthernIreland – £159,109
- Scotland– £202,264
- NorthEast – £203,830
- Wales– £214,322
- Yorkshire& Humber – £228,058
- NorthWest – £234,807
- EastMidlands – £251,127
- WestMidlands – £276,030
- SouthWest – £344,294
- Eastof England – £398,839
- SouthEast – £462,709
- London– £673,238
London houseprices
In the capitalmeanwhile, budget busting Central London topped the list for average soldprices in the last 12 months, coming in at £1,501,309. The least expensive partof London was East London at £512,721.
Londonregional house price rankings:
- CentralLondon (£1,501,309)
- WestLondon (£1,213,660)
- NorthWest London (£856,811)
- NorthLondon (£791,468)
- SouthWest London (£790,622)
- SouthLondon (£588,537)
- NorthEast London (£571,339)
- SouthEast London (£563,740)
- EastLondon (£512,721)
When it comesto asking prices in London, the Borough of Barking and Dagenham was the mostaffordable of all of London’s 32 boroughs in January 2022, with an average askingprice of £356,421 versus £1,624,295 in Kensington and Chelsea. Althoughinterestingly prices were 1% up month on month and 8.4% annually in Barking andDagenham versus 0.3% down month on month and 5.5% up overall in Kensington andChelsea.
Otherfactors at play
Whilst Shildon mayhave the cheapest average property price in the UK currently, to really getvalue for money from your lifestyle you should also be aware of cost of living,namely property price versus salary.
According toHalifax, the UK’s largest mortgageprovider, the average price spent on property by first time buyers is currently£264,140, with a deposit of £53,935. This is a whopping seven times the averagesalary of a first-time buyer.
As such, anotherNorth East spot, Middlesbrough, comes out very favourably as a cost-effectiveplace to live based on the difference between average income (£31,292) andhouse price (£149,891). So, this means house prices are around 4.8 times theaverage local salary.
Conversely,buying a property in Cambridge in the East of England will set you back around £536,446on average, which is around 13.6 times the average local salary. Ouch!
So, when itcomes to buying a property, yes, the price has to be right, but as we havealways seen when it comes to setting up home, it is all about location,location, location and finding an area that ticks as many of your own personal boxesas possible, including affordable house prices.
*Based on Rightmovehouse price data as of January 2022: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices.html and the NISRA House Price Index for Q3 2021: https://www.nisra.gov.uk/statistics/housing-community-and-regeneration/northern-ireland-house-price-index
