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.
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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
| 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
| 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.
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