Revealed: the cheapest cities to own a home in Britain

New research reveals the cheapest cities to own a home, taking account of mortgage payments, utility bills and council tax

Aberdeen Harbour & The Port of Aberdeen and the surrounding area
(Image credit: Getty Images)

As property prices fall, you may be wondering where the cheapest place to buy in the UK is right now.

According to new research, Aberdeen is currently the cheapest city to own a home, followed by Dundee and Kingston Upon Hill.  

Glasgow and Durham complete the top five least expensive places to be a homeowner.  

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up

The mortgage broker L&C Mortgages analysed house price data and added in mortgage payments, utility bills and council tax for each location. The total was then compared to the median salary in each area to reveal the least expensive British cities to own a home.  

Aberdeen takes the crown as the cheapest UK city to own a home. In the "Granite City", average house prices are £139,551, according to the Office for National Statistics, with the total mortgage cost repaid over 25 years at 4.5% interest coming in at £209,349. This equates to a monthly mortgage payment of £698. When combined with utilities and council tax, it creates a monthly bill of £988. This is 37% of the median salary in Aberdeen (£2,696).  

In second place is Dundee, with the average home priced at £142,777, and a total mortgage cost of £214,189. This makes monthly mortgage payments £714, giving a total bill of £1,049 when utilities and council tax are added. This is 42% of the median salary (£2,524). 

Kingston Upon Hull, a port city in the Yorkshire and the Humber region, is the third cheapest. The research found that the average cost of a home was £134,582, the total mortgage cost was £201,895, and monthly mortgage payments were £673. This jumps to £989 when combined with utilities and council tax, which is 42% of the median salary (£2,332).  

"The research, which considers monthly mortgage payments alongside utilities and council tax, shows that the least expensive cities are predominantly located in the UK’s northern regions - with Scotland appearing three times in the top five,” says a spokesperson from L&C Mortgages.

They add that during the first six months of the year, 291,568 mortgages were approved across the country. “This has allowed both first-time buyers and seasoned homeowners to invest in property in a location they're happy to call home.”

Glasgow, Durham, Sunderland, Preston, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent and Doncaster round out the top 10 cheapest cities to own a home.

In contrast, the most expensive areas to live are Westminster, St Albans, Chichester, Winchester and Cambridge. When mortgage payments are added to utility and council tax bills, homeowners face paying more than 100% of the local median salary on these bills.

Of course, many of those residents will work in other areas with higher wages - the locations are all commutable to London, for example - and some may have paid off their mortgages already.

Cheapest cities to own a home in Britain

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Rank City Average cost of homes (£) Cost minus 10% deposit (£) Total mortgage cost over 25 years at 4.5% (£) Monthly mortgage payment (£) Utilities, council tax and mortgage per month (£) Utilities, council tax and mortgage as % of monthly salary
1 Aberdeen 139,551 125,596 209,349 698 988 37
2 Dundee 142,777 128,499 214,189 714 1,049 42
3 Kingston Upon Hull 134,582 121,124 201,895 673 989 42
4 Glasgow 168,415 151,574 252,650 842 1,209 45
5 Durham 127,047 114,342 190,591 635 1,010 46
6 Sunderland 136,554 122,899 204,853 683 1,016 47
7 Preston 158,204 142,384 237,332 791 1,135 49
8 Bradford 168,497 151,647 252,773 843 1,171 49
9 Stoke on Trent 144,136 129,722 216,227 721 1,122 49
10 Doncaster 161,295 145,166 241,969 807 1,166 51

Most expensive cities to own a home in Britain

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Rank City Average cost of homes (£) Cost minus 10% deposit (£) Total mortgage cost over 25 years at 4.5% (£) Monthly mortgage payment (£) Utilities, council tax and mortgage per month (£) Utilities, council tax and mortgage as % of monthly salary
1 Westminster 921,609 829,448 1,382,562 4,609 4,916 143
2 St Albans 577,642 519,878 866,556 2,889 3,214 131
3 Chichester 477,709 429,938 716,641 2,389 2,716 119
4 Winchester 518,101 466,291 777,235 2,591 2,920 109
5 Cambridge 510,014 459,013 765,103 2,550 2,955 105
6 Brighton & Hove 434,736 391,262 652,174 2,174 2,590 104
7 Bath 426,968 384,271 640,521 2,135 2,542 100
8 Oxford 478,100 30,290 717,227 2,391 2,786 97
9 Chelmsford 377,474 339,727 566,272 1,888 2,331 95
10 London 525,629 473,066 788,528 2,628 3,030 94

The calculations use average house price data as of May 2023 from Office for National Statistics, average cost of basic utilities per month data from Numbeo, median weekly earnings for full-time employees before tax in 2022 from Office for National Statistics, average council tax band D per dwelling from gov.uk, and mortgage approval rates from Credit Strategy. 

Explore More
Ruth Emery
Contributing editor

Ruth is an award-winning financial journalist with more than 15 years' experience of working on national newspapers, websites and specialist magazines.

She is passionate about helping people feel more confident about their finances. She was previously editor of Times Money Mentor, and prior to that was deputy Money editor at The Sunday Times. 

A multi-award winning journalist, Ruth started her career on a pensions magazine at the FT Group, and has also worked at Money Observer and Money Advice Service. 

Outside of work, she is a mum to two young children, while also serving as a magistrate and an NHS volunteer.