UK's cheapest and most expensive places to buy or rent a home (2024)

FAQs

UK's cheapest and most expensive places to buy or rent a home? ›

Aberdeen tops the list of the cheapest cities for first-time buyers, while the most expensive is perhaps no surprise, London, where average prices tend to be higher than the rest of the country. It is a similar picture for the most expensive places to rent, with the capital ranked top of that list too.

North-east England remains the most affordable part of the country to buy a home in the UK, according to Halifax's latest house price index. Buying a property there will set you back on average £172,538.

The cheapest places to rent in 2024: Cities

The cost of rent varies a huge amount across UK cities, with the lowest in Burnley (£566), Grimsby (£608) and Hull (£612) and the highest in Brighton (£1,616), Oxford (£1,667) and London (£2,047).

Carlisle is the cheapest city to be a renter

New analysis has revealed Carlisle is the cheapest city in Britain to be a renter, with the average advertised rent for an equivalent two-bedroom or smaller property now £607 per month.

In summary: buying requires a bigger upfront cost, but renting is more expensive in the long term. A good rule of thumb is that buying a property becomes better value after around 10 years, compared to renting an identical property. Whether it's cheaper to buy or rent depends on several factors.

The average US household is almost a third richer than its UK counterpart and most of this difference is down to housing being cheaper in the US, according to a study by a leading thinktank.

Key Takeaways. In 2024, rent prices in London are 29.5% lower than in New York City. The U.S. is forty times larger than the U.K., so costs depend on where individuals and families reside. The average monthly salary after taxes is 42% less in London than in NYC.

Flats tend to be cheaper than houses in the same area, so if you're on a tight budget and there's a particular place you'd like to live, you'll probably find it easier to buy a flat than a house.

What is the average house rent in UK? ›

England. Average private rent for England was £1,276 in February 2024, up 8.8% (£104) from a year earlier. This is the highest annual rise since this series began in 2006, and was up from 8.3% in January 2024.

People are eligible if they cannot afford to rent or buy housing supplied by the private sector. Increasingly, councils demand that people prove they have had a local connection for over five years before they are eligible to go on a waiting list. UK and Irish citizens have priority for housing assistance.

"Of all the areas in the country that are primarily rural, County Durham is the cheapest to move to," the team say. "Here the average property price is just £122,818. Located in the North East, County Durham is an area of great historical significance.

Is it a good investment? Yes, it is often worth buying a house in the UK. Many people have used their property to build wealth over time, and owning a home often puts you in a better financial position in the long-run than renting.

Houses grow in value faster than flats do because the clock is always ticking on the lease term on a leasehold flat. This makes houses a better investment if you can afford to buy one and sit on it for many years. However, new 999 year leases are beginning to emerge, which many consider being 'as good as freehold'.

What is affordable rent? Affordable rent homes are let at below the market rate by a registered provider. Affordable rents were introduced by the government to allow social housing providers to charge up to 80% of the local market rent for the homes they let.

County Durham in North East England is the most affordable rural area to buy a home in the UK, with the average property price coming in at just £109,980.

The Foundation concludes that high cost and low quantity leave the UK's housing stock offering the worst value for money of any advanced economy. UK households pay 57 per cent more for the same (quality-adjusted) housing as their counterparts in Austria, for example, and 36 per cent more than those in Canada.