Thinking about buying a new home? Whether you’re taking your first step onto the property ladder or looking to upgrade or downsize in a new area, you’ll probably want to know where you can find the lowest property prices in the UK.
This blog explores the cheapest places to buy a home in the UK – even in the more expensive areas – and offers some tips to help you find the best affordable property to invest in, like making sure your new home has a building warranty.
UK House Price Index 2022
According to the government’s latest figures (from May 2022, published in July 2022), the cheapest homes in the UK can be found in Northern England, followed by Scotland and Wales. At the other end of the scale, as you might expect, London has some of the highest property prices nationwide.
Here are the average UK house prices for each region as of May 2022:
- North East – £153,592
- Scotland – £187,517
- North West – £205,783
- Wales – £212,414
- East Midlands – £244,060
- West Midlands – £247,162
- South West – £323,418
- East of England – £353,574
- South East – £388,531
As you can see, there’s a huge difference between the lowest and highest average house prices, with homes in Northern England being hundreds of thousands pounds cheaper than homes in the South.
If you have a particular region in mind that you’d like to move to, read on to find out which areas currently have the lowest property prices in that region.
North East England house prices
While the region technically doesn’t have the lowest starting prices, it does have the lowest average, making the North East the most affordable place in the UK to buy a home right now.
Here are the average house prices of in North East England under the following local authorities:
- Hartlepool – £129,071
- Sunderland – £140,439
- Gateshead – £148,846
- South Tyneside – £151,573
- Darlington – £157,036
- Stockton-on-Tees – £159,407
- Northumberland – £181,562
- Newcastle upon Tyne – £184,656
- Newcastle under Lyme – £189,141
- North Tyneside – £195,730
Some parts of Durham have higher prices, but on average, County Durham has the cheapest property prices in the North East at £124,830.
Scotland house prices
Outside of England, Scotland secures the top spot for the lowest house prices, with many areas starting below the averages found in North East England.
Here are the results of Scotland’s House Price Index for May 2022:
- Inverclyde – £112,837
- East Ayrshire – £123,942
- North Ayrshire – £126,602
- North Lanarkshire – £134,606
- West Dunbartonshire – £135,159
- City of Aberdeen – £146,913
- City of Dundee – £150,286
- Renfrewshire – £150,865
- Dumfries and Galloway – £155,699
- Na h-Eileanan Siar – £160,351
So many areas are comparatively cheap that there are a further seven regions with average house prices below Scotland’s national average of £187,517:
- Falkirk – £164,089
- Fife – £166,468
- City of Glasgow – £167,691
- Clackmannanshire – £167,793
- Angus – £171,136
- Moray – £181,337
- Argyll and Bute – £185,359
Even cities like Aberdeen, Dundee, and Glasgow have much more affordable real estate than most regions throughout England and even Wales.
Yorkshire house prices
The next cheapest house prices can be found in Yorkshire, with the lowest prices starting well below the region’s overall average of £204,835.
The majority of the cheapest local authorities are in West Yorkshire, but the lowest prices are scattered across the East, North, and South:
- City of Kingston upon Hull – £132,973
- Middlesbrough – £135,288
- Redcar and Cleveland – £154,475
- Doncaster – £161,807
- Barnsley – £163,082
- Bradford – £168,015
- Rotherham – £171,810
- Calderdale – £177,896
- Kirklees – £186,986
- Wakefield – £188,244
Property prices in Sheffield also fall below the region’s average at £201,950. Even those that exceed this number are still below England’s national average of £302,278, including:
- East Riding of Yorkshire – £216,802
- Leeds – £229,139
- Selby – £257,422
- North Yorkshire – £272,334
- Ryedale – £293,855
- York – £315,092
So, while buying a home in larger cities like Leeds and York will cost more, it’s still relatively cheap.
North West England house prices
Though the average house price in North West England is £205,783, there are over two dozen local authorities within this region with averages below or just above this figure.
House prices start at the lowest point for the area in Lancashire, as shown below:
- Burnley – £111,577
- Hyndburn – £121,950
- Pendle – £126,845
- Blackpool – £130,465
- Blackburn with Darwen – £140,907
- Preston – £156,147
- Rossendale – £176,965
- Lancashire – £179,280
- Wyre – £189,187
- Lancaster – £189,812
The next lowest prices can be found in Cumbria, which borders Scotland:
- Copeland – £137,673
- Barrow-in-Furness – £143,512
- Carlisle – £157,924
- Allerdale – £168,799
- Cumbria – £184,411
The North West’s highest average prices range across Merseyside and Greater Manchester:
- St Helens – £174,614
- Knowsley – £176,562
- Bolton – £176,749
- Wigan – £177,341
- Halton – £179,025
- Liverpool – £179,150
- Oldham – £180,048
- Rochdale – £181,784
- Tameside – £198,073
- Wirral – £201,749
Salford in Manchester and Sefton in Merseyside just exceed the region’s average by around £500.
Wales house prices
House prices in Wales are more or less on par with average prices around the North West, though the national average is around £7,000 higher at £212,414.
These are the results of Wales’s House Price Index from May 2022:
- Blaenau Gwent – £132,388
- Merthyr Tydfil – £145,327
- Rhondda Cynon Taf – £148,562
- Neath Port Talbot – £154,556
- Caerphilly – £179,459
- Torfaen – £187,687
- Swansea – £190,330
- Denbighshire – £192,258
- Wrexham – £197,003
- Bridgend – £198,616
Beyond this top ten of places with the lowest house prices in Wales, the following local authorities also have property prices below the country’s overall average:
- Carmarthenshire – £203,369
- Gwynedd – £206,383
- Flintshire – £210,114
Just over Wales’s average is Conwy, which is still comparatively cheap with an average of £215,710.
Midlands house prices
The Midlands have been split into East and West, with the East Midlands having the lower house prices of the two. The cheapest house prices are in Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire:
- North East Lincolnshire – £148,243
- Bolsover – £167,719
- Mansfield – £173,460
- North Lincolnshire – £180,815
- City of Nottingham – £182,415
- Lincoln – £182,718
- Ashfield – £188,207
- Bassetlaw – £191,433
- Chesterfield – £193,098
- City of Derby – £196,913
Not only is there a top ten of cheapest places to buy a house in the East Midlands, but there is another fifteen local authorities with prices below the zone’s overall average of £244,060:
- Boston – £200,461
- Erewash – £206,073
- Amber Valley – £212,442
- West Lindsey – £212,711
- Leicester – £221,938
- Derbyshire – £222,369
- Nottinghamshire – £223,750
- East Lindsey – £223,786
- Newark and Sherwood – £224,089
- North East Derbyshire – £228,036
- Lincolnshire – £231,729
- Broxtowe – £234,352
- South Holland – £235,820
- Gedling – £237,878
- South Derbyshire – £241,376
The house prices stray above this number in Leicestershire and Worcestershire, but they still stay below the average house price for England as a whole.
Meanwhile, in the West Midlands, the average price is a few thousand pounds higher at £247,162, with the majority of the lower prices found in Staffordshire:
- Stoke-on-Trent – £138,604
- Sandwell – £192,023
- Wolverhampton – £194,832
- Walsall – £208,600
- Cannock Chase – £215,128
- Coventry – £220,459
- Dudley – £222,420
- East Staffordshire – £222,454
- Staffordshire Moorlands – £222,704
- Birmingham – £222,834
There are a further few local authorities below the West Midlands average house price, too:
- Nuneaton and Bedworth – £228,116
- Tamworth – £233,593
- Staffordshire – £240,860
Or, if you’re fine with paying more than this while keeping it below England’s national average, you could venture into Warwickshire, Shropshire, and Herefordshire.
South West England house prices
While average house prices in the South West of England are around £20,000 above the national average, it’s still possible to find properties below £302,278.
Here are ten local authorities, mainly in Devon and Somerset, where house prices are lower:
- City of Plymouth – £220,687
- Torbay – £250,850
- Swindon – £264,288
- South Somerset – £285,055
- Sedgemoor – £286,732
- Mid Devon – £286,963
- Forest of Dean – £290,874
- West Devon – £294,898
- Somerset – £296,343
- Somerset West and Taunton – £298,417
Of course, there are several areas where house prices exceed the national average but are still below or just above the South West’s average of £323,418:
- Torridge – £306,062 (Devon)
- North Devon – £308,351 (Devon)
- Exeter – £310,082 (Devon)
- Cornwall – £312,083 (Cornwall)
- Teignbridge – £322,717 (Devon)
- Mendip – £323,741 (Somerset)
- North Somerset – £323,755 (Somerset)
House prices continue to rise by between £5,000 and £30,000 across Wiltshire, Bristol, and Dorset.
East England house prices
Almost as far north as the Midlands but also tied to the South East is the region known as the East of England, which is made up of six ceremonial counties.
The average house price in the East of England is £353,574, there are many areas – mainly within Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk – that have a lower average than this:
- Ipswich – £234,963
- City of Peterborough – £237,181
- Fenland – £239,134
- Norwich – £239,974
- King’s Lynn and West Norfolk – £266,414
- Tendring – £272,150
- Luton – £274,406
- Breckland – £281,059
- Norfolk – £285,332
- East Suffolk – £297,998
As you can see, the top ten above also have figures below England’s overall average of £302,278. It may be surprising that Luton is included with this region, but its county of Bedfordshire is actually aligned with the East of England for administration.
Once you pass the national average, there are still several places below East England’s average:
- West Suffolk – £305,251
- Colchester – £314,664
- Harlow – £321,139
- Thurrock – £322,789
- Southend-on-Sea – £331,972
- Braintree – £345,645
Again, these are mainly in Essex, where prices do creep up to the £370,000 range and above.
South East England house prices
The top ten local authorities with the lowest house prices in South East England range from the mid £200,000s to within £10-12,000 of the national average.
These lower-priced areas are mainly found in Hampshire, East Sussex, and Kent:
- Southampton – £238,904
- Portsmouth – £248,678
- Gosport – £254,772
- Hastings – £270,825
- Eastbourne – £280,592
- Swale – £303,351
- Thanet – £303,758
- Dover – £313,172
- Slough – £314,127
- Milton Keynes – £314,757
There are almost twenty more areas that are still below the South East’s own average house price of £388,531, including parts of Berkshire, West Sussex, and Portsmouth:
- Crawley – £315,718
- Havant – £317,890
- Reading – £318,163
- Folkestone and Hythe – £322,797
- Gravesham – £332,480
- East Sussex – £345,186
- Worthing – £346,328
- Dartford – £348,909
- Basingstoke and Deane – £349,257
- Fareham – £350,589
- Maidstone – £352,234
- Kent – £355,111
- Arun – £361,682
- Canterbury – £362,915
- Ashford – £363,058
- Rother – £366,573
- Adur – £374,367
- Hampshire – £376,364
Just exceeding the regional average is Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, with an average of £388,771.
London house prices
London is famously the most expensive place in the UK to live, and house prices there are no different. Of course, there are parts of London where property is cheaper than others, but it’s still around 2-4 times more expensive than cheaper parts of the UK.
Most of the top ten cheapest places to buy a home in London are found in East London, South London, or South East London, as follows:
- Barking and Dagenham – £344,899
- Bexley – £396,992
- Newham – £409,413
- Croydon – £419,335
- Greenwich – £419,437
- Havering – £422,527
- Sutton – £427,275
- Hounslow – £446,033
- Enfield – £451,073
- Lewisham – £452,678
However, there are a few more parts of London that still have an average house price below the higher regional average of £526,183 towards West London and North East London:
- Hillingdon – £455,347
- Redbridge – £472,102
- Tower Hamlets – £475,397
- Waltham Forest – £497,887
- Bromley – £498,721
- Harrow – £510,458
Once prices rise above this figure, mostly towards central London, they double the average – the most expensive area being Kensington and Chelsea with an average property price of £1,316,522.
Is now a good time to buy a house in the UK?
Now you know what the property prices are like across the UK, and where you can find the cheapest homes in each region, you can start looking for your dream home within your budget. But is now the best time to buy a house, or should you wait and save up for a bit longer?
The answer to that question depends on your circumstances, of course, but it’s advisable not to wait too long. If you find a good deal in the area of your choice, snap it up while you can – there’s no guarantee that house prices won’t keep going up. With the latest data showing a 13.1% annual increase in house prices, it’s probably not worth waiting around.
That’s not to say that you should rush and make a quick purchase, though. You should gather as much information as possible before committing to buying a property, and make sure that you can trust the builders and developers. If you’re buying a new build home, it’s especially important to make sure that they’ve set up a structural building warranty for you. Buying a home comes with big financial risks if you don’t do things by the book, so the best thing you can do to protect your investment is making sure that everything is up to standard and covered by the relevant insurance policies. Good luck with your house hunting!
