These days, it feels like many of us are doomed to be stuck in the rental market forever. The extortionate cost of living in the UK has forced some Brits to move to a whole other country, while others have resorted to pet-sitting in order to save on accommodation costs.
While most probably won’t go to those extremes, we’ve probably all considered relocating to a different part of the UK to increase our chances of one day owning a home. You’ve just got to make sure that you choose wisely.
To help you do that, Zoopla recently released its House Price Index for January 2024, sharing the average house prices in cities around the country. Of course, it comes as a shock to absolutely no one that London remains the most expensive place to buy a home, with an average house price of £534,660 (whelp).
As for the rest of the UK, Cambridge is the currently most second expensive city to buy property in. Its average house price is £469,100. Oxford followed in third at £446,700 but the average prices plummeted after that, with Bristol coming in fourth place at £335,900.
On the flipside, Bradford is reportedly the most affordable city for first-time buyers, with an average asking price of £104,643. In a little slither of good news, Zoopla’s report showed that the average UK property was £263,000, which is down 0.5 percent year-on-year.
The most expensive cities to buy a home outside of London, according to Zoopla
- Cambridge (£469,100)
- Oxford (£446,700)
- Bristol (£335, 900)
- Bournemouth (£328,500)
- Portsmouth (£278,600)
- Edinburgh (£270,900)
- Southampton (£255,100)
- Cardiff (£252,700)
- Leicester (£226,600)
- Manchester (£223,000)
For a more zoomed in picture of the housing situation, take a look at the ten most expensive streets in the UK. Plus, these are the places where the overall cost of living is cheapest. And if you must insist on living in London, at least consider which of its boroughs have the fastest rising rent and which will get you the most bang for you buck.
Did you see that two UK cities are officially the cheapest in the world for expats?
Plus: All the winners of the British Pie Awards 2024.
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