Calling All First-Time Buyers: These Are The UK’s Most Affordable Cities

Beach huts in Brighton

by Katie Rosseinsky |
Published on

The words ‘a new survey of UK house prices’ typically tend to trigger a spiral of doom and gloom in the reader, with headline upon headline conjuring up a bleak future where millennials are doomed to live at the whim of unscrupulous landlords while priced out of the housing market, paying overly inflated rents all the while.

A new study, however, which compared average property prices in 14 UK cities and charted what percentage of these properties would actually be affordable to first-time buyers, actually has some good news for those looking to take on the property ladder. There is one caveat, though: you might have to compromise on your dream location.

Post Office Money's new research found that, of the 14 cities compared, London isn't the least affordable for first timers, a dubious honour which was instead (and surprisingly) taken by commuter favourite Brighton, where just 2 percent of properties were classed as affordable for new buyers.

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Surveying over 1,000 people, all of whom had bought a home within the past two years, the research found 70 percent of participants to have ultimately decided upon a location 26 minutes from their preferred spot. According to Post Office Money's Owen Woodley, 'first-time buyers can really benefit from thinking outside the box to realise their property aspirations.'

Below, and in descending order, are their findings...

14. Brighton

Average house price: £352,303

Percentage of properties that are affordable for first-time buyers: 2 percent

13. Bristol

Average house price: £268,070

Percentage of properties that are affordable for first-time buyers: 29 percent

12. London

Average house price: £534,272

Percentage of properties that are affordable for first-time buyers: 30 percent

11. Cardiff

Average house price: £191,582

Percentage of properties that are affordable for first-time buyers: 46 percent

10. Leeds

Average house price: £170,927

Percentage of properties that are affordable for first-time buyers: 65 percent

9. Newcastle

Average house price: £162,010

Percentage of properties that are affordable for first-time buyers: 72 percent

8. Sheffield

Average house price: £154,481

Percentage of properties that are affordable for first-time buyers: 74 percent

7. Birmingham

Average house price: £165,149

Percentage of properties that are affordable for first-time buyers: 79 percent

6. Manchester

Average house price: £153,590

Percentage of properties that are affordable for first-time buyers: 84 percent

5. Plymouth

Average house price: £167,477

Percentage of properties that are affordable for first-time buyers: 85 percent

4. Liverpool

Average house price: £121,374

Percentage of properties that are affordable for first-time buyers: 87 percent

3. Nottingham

Average house price: £128,192

Percentage of properties that are affordable for first-time buyers: 89 percent

2. Norwich

Average house price: £196,987

Percentage of properties that are affordable for first-time buyers: 93 percent

1. Southampton

Average house price: £199,074

Percentage of properties that are affordable for first-time buyers: 98 percent

See you in Southampton, we guess...

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