The True North-South Divide
Since the beginning of 2015, the UK media has been running story after story about rising property prices. Living in the so-called affluent South in a small coastal town, I am only too well aware that house prices are steadily increasing. With so little coming on to the market in our area, its hardly surprising.
Like the homes of so many other average British home owners, my castle is a three-bedroomed terraced house. It's not any better or worse than most other average family homes in the UK, but there is one major difference: its value. Here in the South East property prices can be alarmingly expensive. My little house would fetch close to 370,000 if I were in a position to sell it. To make the move to a more expensive home costing up to 500,000, I would be required to pay a large chunk of the new property's purchase price in Stamp Duty Land Tax.
Here in the London commuter belt, we pay extortionate prices for quite average homes, and then pay taxes on top for the privilege. Elsewhere in the UK property prices are nowhere near as high, and as a result, there are huge numbers of home owners living in Britain who need never pay a penny to the government in Stamp Duty. For properties priced between 125,001 and 250,000, the duty is levied at just 1%. Beneath that price the duty doesn't exist.
For average working families living in favoured parts of sunny Sussex, leafy Surrey, and the London suburbs, property ownership comes at a very high price indeed, and government policies consistently fail to reduce the financial pain. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, went some way towards remedying this in his autumn 2014 budget. However he missed an opportunity to level the playing field by evening out stamp duty levies nationwide. People buying three-bedroom homes in the South East already pay enough, whereas it could be argued that ordinary working people buying in some of the areas listed below could very possibly pay a little more!
For those whose jobs are more mobile, there is a whole wealth of property readily available in cheaper areas of the UK. Here are fourteen places you might wish to consider in your search for an affordable three-bedroom house. All prices given were found on the Rightmove web-site, and are current for 2015.
Other "Cheapest Places" in the Southeast and West Country
Stanley is a former coal-mining town in County Durham. One of the worst pit disasters in British history took place in Stanley in February 1909 when over 160 people were killed in a local coal mine.
With the closure of the coal pits, and the loss of other major employers in the area, Stanley has been on hard times economically for much of the last twenty years, and local house prices reflect this. A basic three-bedroom house can be bought here for around 40,000 (July 2015).
There has been some serious investment in the town in recent times, including improved leisure facilities, a new swimming pool, and a solar-powered bus interchange. More improvements, such as a new health centre and a Sure Start children's centre, are planned. The town has a good sprinkling of trilive supermarkets, and there is a twice weekly market.
In the Welsh Rhondda Valley, an area of outstanding charm and natural beauty, a three-bedroom terraced home can be purchased for just under 40,000. My search revealed several houses in Tonypandy and Maerdy, Ferndale, for around 37,000, and there were a number of others, all advertised as being in good order, in the 40,000 to 50,000 price range. Some of the locations listed in this price bracket are Treherbert, Tonypandy, Maesteg and Port Talbot. This area has shown a steady rise in prices over the four years since I first compiled this list, but still represents exceptional value compared to other parts of the UK.
The Rhondda Valley was once famed for its many coal mines, but the closure of many local pits in the 1990s left a legacy of high unemployment. The plethora of low-priced homes for sale in this region is a reflection of the pain that these communities continue to feel. Served by the Taff Vale railway line, Tonypandy is the principle town of the Rhondda Valley, and has the greatest employment opportunities.
Lively Liverpool, with all its musical and artistic heritage, birthplace of The Beatles and Cilla Black, has a generous supply of reasonably-priced three-bedroom terraced houses. The lowest-priced example I came across in this area is being offered at 30,000, and there are a number of attractive, basic properties available in the Liverpool, St Helens and Skelmersdale area in the 35,000 to 40,000 price bracket. Shared ownership schemes seem to be popular in this region, and many reasonably priced brand-new homes come to the market offering 25% to 75% shared ownership.
In recent years, Liverpool has been transformed by an ambitious and far-reaching regeneration programme, and is now considered to be one of Britain's leading centres for culture and business. Although the generous supply of cheap housing seems to tell a different story, it may just be that the house prices are only temporarily lagging behind the bigger picture. Certainly, here as in other areas I've investigated, there has been a significant rise in house prices at the lower end of the scale, as buy-to-letters seek out fresh territories, and first-time-buyer schemes help more people onto the property ladder.
Stoke-on-Trent is well known for the numerous potteries that grew up in and around the town from the 17th century onwards. Wedgwood, Minton and Royal Doulton are among the more famous china manufacturers from this area, and the potteries, together with abundant local supplies of coal and iron, ensured the prosperity of the region for several centuries. More recently, however, with pit closures and the loss of numerous factories and steelworks, there has been a sharp rise in unemployment. Nowadays, local tourism opportunities are beginning to be exploited, and both the china works and the canal system draw their fair share of visitors to the region each year.
A three-bedroom terraced house in the Potteries area, in towns such as Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-Under-Lyme, can be bought for as little as 40,000 to 50,000. A semi-detached home, in good order, sells for as little as 55,000.
According to the 2011 census, Leeds is the third largest city, by population, in the UK. One of the biggest success stories of the Industrial Revolution, Leeds was once the thriving hub of a vast network of wool and linen mills. In more recent years, Leeds continues to enjoy a reputation as the cultural, financial and commercial heart of West Yorkshire.
My search revealed properties in the Holbeck and Beeston areas readily available in the 65,000 to 75,000 price bracket. The low-end prices are a little higher in nearby Wakefield and Pontefract, but all show listings for comfortable, habitable properties around 75,000.
My search on Rightmove this April (2015) turned up a three-bedroom property in Walker priced at 49,950, and others in Benwell and Blakelaw at 54,950. Three-bedroom houses priced at between 60,000 and 70,000 are plentiful in the Newcastle-upon-Tyne area of Tyne & Wear, particularly in Blyth and Jarrow. Smart, modern semi-detached houses can be bought in this region from around 80,000. At the other end of the scale, in more favoured areas such as Fenham and Westerhope, spacious, attractive detached and semi-detached homes are freely available at well under 200,000.
The port developed in the 16th century and, along with the shipyards lower down the river Tyne, became one of the world's largest ship-building and ship-repairing centres. These industries have since gone into decline, and today, Newcastle-upon-Tyne is largely a business and cultural centre, with a lively nightlife.
Famous for being home to the shipyard that built the Titanic, beautiful Belfast has seen more than its fair share of problems over the years. The continuing sectarian conflict that has divided communities in this city is in sharp contrast, however, to the warm welcome that visitors receive here. Belfast has a vibrant and thriving city centre with great leisure facilities, historic sites to visit, fabulous shopping streets and excellent transport links. A comfortable three-bedroomed home in this busy city could be yours from as little as 40,000. Please also bear in mind, when searching for property in Northern Ireland, that RightMove may not have the same coverage in this area as it does in mainland UK, and you will do better by searching on some of the sites specific to Northern Ireland.
Historic Kingston-Upon-Hull, better known as just plain Hull, has poetic and theatrical links as well as a fascinating maritime past. Recent investment in urban regeneration has brought about much improvement in poorer areas in and around the city, but the property prices remain some of the UK's lowest. I found a number of three-bedroomed terraced houses advertised for sale priced at around 59,950, all within a ten-mile radius of Hull City Centre. Homes in the 65,000 to 75,000 price range are readily available. If you have a little more to spend, 249,500 will buy you a spacious detached house with good-sized gardens, in one of the better areas. and you could still avoid the Chancellor's 3% stamp duty bracket.
Industrious Sheffield, famous for its cutlers, and surrounded by some of Britain's most ruggedly beautiful countryside, is a city that has seen tough times in recent years. Like many of the areas listed trilive condo kovan in this article, Sheffield has seen employment prospects wax and wane, but it still remains a vibrant university city, with many galleries and museums to browse, and great sporting and leisure facilities. Three-bedroomed terraced houses can be bought for as little as 60,000, and there are a number available in the 65,000 to 75,000 price bracket both in Sheffield and in the surrounding towns and villages.
Birmingham, in the West Midlands county of England, is the UK's second most populous city after London. Once at the forefront of the industrial revolution, Birmingham remains a major international commercial centre. It is home to no less than three universities, and is also the site of Britain's National Exhibition Centre. Despite its sprawling urban environment, Birmingham enjoys over 8,000 acres of parkland within its boundaries and has a fascinating and picturesque network of canals and waterways running through the city.
Three-bedroom houses in the Birmingham districts of Smethwick and Oldbury begin at between 75,000 and 85,000 (April 2015).
Swansea and Port Talbot can trace their roots back to the Stone Age. The Romans and the Vikings put their mark on these ancient settlements, and the people of these towns have been seafarers, ship-builders, merchants, and coal-miners. Situated on the edge of the beautiful Gower Peninsula, this part of Wales has much to recommend it, not least its property prices. Three-bedroom terraced homes can be bought for as little as 55,000.
House prices in Scotland vary greatly from area to area, and prices in some of the big cities such as Edinburgh and Glasgow are just as high, if not higher than, their southern equivalents. Dumfries, however, has a range of budget-priced homes available, and in April 2015 RightMove was listing several three-bedroom houses with guide prices (offering prices) from 45,000 to 55,000 for sale in this area.
Hastings and Bexhill are a dramatic anomaly in a sea of high-priced property in Sunny Sussex. The two towns are in the Eastern corner of the county, not too far from the Kent border, and they represent excellent value compared to their more affluent neighbours further West. Unbelievably for this southeastern corner of England, three-bedroom homes are readily available for less than 150,000 (May 2015). OK, so that's a very steep climb from the giveaway prices in the Rhondda Valley, but for Sussex these are bargain-basement prices! Less than a year ago, you could still buy three-bedroom houses in Hastings for under 125,000, so if Sussex is your target area, hurry, hurry, whilst there are still bargains to be had.
Not quite the cheapest place to buy a house in Kent, but not too far off it! Incredibly for the South East, Chatham has quite a number of three-bedroom houses available to buy from around 140,000 (May 2015). Historic Chatham, famous for its dockyards, is on an easy train route into central London, making it an ideal location for commuters. If you are stuck in London, and http://www.johnlscott.com/ are desperate to improve your accommodation in a more affordable location, then Chatham might be the place you are looking for. Nine months ago, three-bedroom houses in Chatham started at around 110,000. Prices are climbing steeply and fast in Chatham and the surrounding area.
Since the beginning of 2015, the UK media has been running story after story about rising property prices. Living in the so-called affluent South in a small coastal town, I am only too well aware that house prices are steadily increasing. With so little coming on to the market in our area, its hardly surprising.
Like the homes of so many other average British home owners, my castle is a three-bedroomed terraced house. It's not any better or worse than most other average family homes in the UK, but there is one major difference: its value. Here in the South East property prices can be alarmingly expensive. My little house would fetch close to 370,000 if I were in a position to sell it. To make the move to a more expensive home costing up to 500,000, I would be required to pay a large chunk of the new property's purchase price in Stamp Duty Land Tax.
Here in the London commuter belt, we pay extortionate prices for quite average homes, and then pay taxes on top for the privilege. Elsewhere in the UK property prices are nowhere near as high, and as a result, there are huge numbers of home owners living in Britain who need never pay a penny to the government in Stamp Duty. For properties priced between 125,001 and 250,000, the duty is levied at just 1%. Beneath that price the duty doesn't exist.
For average working families living in favoured parts of sunny Sussex, leafy Surrey, and the London suburbs, property ownership comes at a very high price indeed, and government policies consistently fail to reduce the financial pain. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, went some way towards remedying this in his autumn 2014 budget. However he missed an opportunity to level the playing field by evening out stamp duty levies nationwide. People buying three-bedroom homes in the South East already pay enough, whereas it could be argued that ordinary working people buying in some of the areas listed below could very possibly pay a little more!
For those whose jobs are more mobile, there is a whole wealth of property readily available in cheaper areas of the UK. Here are fourteen places you might wish to consider in your search for an affordable three-bedroom house. All prices given were found on the Rightmove web-site, and are current for 2015.
Other "Cheapest Places" in the Southeast and West Country
Stanley is a former coal-mining town in County Durham. One of the worst pit disasters in British history took place in Stanley in February 1909 when over 160 people were killed in a local coal mine.
With the closure of the coal pits, and the loss of other major employers in the area, Stanley has been on hard times economically for much of the last twenty years, and local house prices reflect this. A basic three-bedroom house can be bought here for around 40,000 (July 2015).
There has been some serious investment in the town in recent times, including improved leisure facilities, a new swimming pool, and a solar-powered bus interchange. More improvements, such as a new health centre and a Sure Start children's centre, are planned. The town has a good sprinkling of trilive supermarkets, and there is a twice weekly market.
In the Welsh Rhondda Valley, an area of outstanding charm and natural beauty, a three-bedroom terraced home can be purchased for just under 40,000. My search revealed several houses in Tonypandy and Maerdy, Ferndale, for around 37,000, and there were a number of others, all advertised as being in good order, in the 40,000 to 50,000 price range. Some of the locations listed in this price bracket are Treherbert, Tonypandy, Maesteg and Port Talbot. This area has shown a steady rise in prices over the four years since I first compiled this list, but still represents exceptional value compared to other parts of the UK.
The Rhondda Valley was once famed for its many coal mines, but the closure of many local pits in the 1990s left a legacy of high unemployment. The plethora of low-priced homes for sale in this region is a reflection of the pain that these communities continue to feel. Served by the Taff Vale railway line, Tonypandy is the principle town of the Rhondda Valley, and has the greatest employment opportunities.
Lively Liverpool, with all its musical and artistic heritage, birthplace of The Beatles and Cilla Black, has a generous supply of reasonably-priced three-bedroom terraced houses. The lowest-priced example I came across in this area is being offered at 30,000, and there are a number of attractive, basic properties available in the Liverpool, St Helens and Skelmersdale area in the 35,000 to 40,000 price bracket. Shared ownership schemes seem to be popular in this region, and many reasonably priced brand-new homes come to the market offering 25% to 75% shared ownership.
In recent years, Liverpool has been transformed by an ambitious and far-reaching regeneration programme, and is now considered to be one of Britain's leading centres for culture and business. Although the generous supply of cheap housing seems to tell a different story, it may just be that the house prices are only temporarily lagging behind the bigger picture. Certainly, here as in other areas I've investigated, there has been a significant rise in house prices at the lower end of the scale, as buy-to-letters seek out fresh territories, and first-time-buyer schemes help more people onto the property ladder.
Stoke-on-Trent is well known for the numerous potteries that grew up in and around the town from the 17th century onwards. Wedgwood, Minton and Royal Doulton are among the more famous china manufacturers from this area, and the potteries, together with abundant local supplies of coal and iron, ensured the prosperity of the region for several centuries. More recently, however, with pit closures and the loss of numerous factories and steelworks, there has been a sharp rise in unemployment. Nowadays, local tourism opportunities are beginning to be exploited, and both the china works and the canal system draw their fair share of visitors to the region each year.
A three-bedroom terraced house in the Potteries area, in towns such as Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-Under-Lyme, can be bought for as little as 40,000 to 50,000. A semi-detached home, in good order, sells for as little as 55,000.
According to the 2011 census, Leeds is the third largest city, by population, in the UK. One of the biggest success stories of the Industrial Revolution, Leeds was once the thriving hub of a vast network of wool and linen mills. In more recent years, Leeds continues to enjoy a reputation as the cultural, financial and commercial heart of West Yorkshire.
My search revealed properties in the Holbeck and Beeston areas readily available in the 65,000 to 75,000 price bracket. The low-end prices are a little higher in nearby Wakefield and Pontefract, but all show listings for comfortable, habitable properties around 75,000.
My search on Rightmove this April (2015) turned up a three-bedroom property in Walker priced at 49,950, and others in Benwell and Blakelaw at 54,950. Three-bedroom houses priced at between 60,000 and 70,000 are plentiful in the Newcastle-upon-Tyne area of Tyne & Wear, particularly in Blyth and Jarrow. Smart, modern semi-detached houses can be bought in this region from around 80,000. At the other end of the scale, in more favoured areas such as Fenham and Westerhope, spacious, attractive detached and semi-detached homes are freely available at well under 200,000.
The port developed in the 16th century and, along with the shipyards lower down the river Tyne, became one of the world's largest ship-building and ship-repairing centres. These industries have since gone into decline, and today, Newcastle-upon-Tyne is largely a business and cultural centre, with a lively nightlife.
Famous for being home to the shipyard that built the Titanic, beautiful Belfast has seen more than its fair share of problems over the years. The continuing sectarian conflict that has divided communities in this city is in sharp contrast, however, to the warm welcome that visitors receive here. Belfast has a vibrant and thriving city centre with great leisure facilities, historic sites to visit, fabulous shopping streets and excellent transport links. A comfortable three-bedroomed home in this busy city could be yours from as little as 40,000. Please also bear in mind, when searching for property in Northern Ireland, that RightMove may not have the same coverage in this area as it does in mainland UK, and you will do better by searching on some of the sites specific to Northern Ireland.
Historic Kingston-Upon-Hull, better known as just plain Hull, has poetic and theatrical links as well as a fascinating maritime past. Recent investment in urban regeneration has brought about much improvement in poorer areas in and around the city, but the property prices remain some of the UK's lowest. I found a number of three-bedroomed terraced houses advertised for sale priced at around 59,950, all within a ten-mile radius of Hull City Centre. Homes in the 65,000 to 75,000 price range are readily available. If you have a little more to spend, 249,500 will buy you a spacious detached house with good-sized gardens, in one of the better areas. and you could still avoid the Chancellor's 3% stamp duty bracket.
Industrious Sheffield, famous for its cutlers, and surrounded by some of Britain's most ruggedly beautiful countryside, is a city that has seen tough times in recent years. Like many of the areas listed trilive condo kovan in this article, Sheffield has seen employment prospects wax and wane, but it still remains a vibrant university city, with many galleries and museums to browse, and great sporting and leisure facilities. Three-bedroomed terraced houses can be bought for as little as 60,000, and there are a number available in the 65,000 to 75,000 price bracket both in Sheffield and in the surrounding towns and villages.
Birmingham, in the West Midlands county of England, is the UK's second most populous city after London. Once at the forefront of the industrial revolution, Birmingham remains a major international commercial centre. It is home to no less than three universities, and is also the site of Britain's National Exhibition Centre. Despite its sprawling urban environment, Birmingham enjoys over 8,000 acres of parkland within its boundaries and has a fascinating and picturesque network of canals and waterways running through the city.
Three-bedroom houses in the Birmingham districts of Smethwick and Oldbury begin at between 75,000 and 85,000 (April 2015).
Swansea and Port Talbot can trace their roots back to the Stone Age. The Romans and the Vikings put their mark on these ancient settlements, and the people of these towns have been seafarers, ship-builders, merchants, and coal-miners. Situated on the edge of the beautiful Gower Peninsula, this part of Wales has much to recommend it, not least its property prices. Three-bedroom terraced homes can be bought for as little as 55,000.
House prices in Scotland vary greatly from area to area, and prices in some of the big cities such as Edinburgh and Glasgow are just as high, if not higher than, their southern equivalents. Dumfries, however, has a range of budget-priced homes available, and in April 2015 RightMove was listing several three-bedroom houses with guide prices (offering prices) from 45,000 to 55,000 for sale in this area.
Hastings and Bexhill are a dramatic anomaly in a sea of high-priced property in Sunny Sussex. The two towns are in the Eastern corner of the county, not too far from the Kent border, and they represent excellent value compared to their more affluent neighbours further West. Unbelievably for this southeastern corner of England, three-bedroom homes are readily available for less than 150,000 (May 2015). OK, so that's a very steep climb from the giveaway prices in the Rhondda Valley, but for Sussex these are bargain-basement prices! Less than a year ago, you could still buy three-bedroom houses in Hastings for under 125,000, so if Sussex is your target area, hurry, hurry, whilst there are still bargains to be had.
Not quite the cheapest place to buy a house in Kent, but not too far off it! Incredibly for the South East, Chatham has quite a number of three-bedroom houses available to buy from around 140,000 (May 2015). Historic Chatham, famous for its dockyards, is on an easy train route into central London, making it an ideal location for commuters. If you are stuck in London, and http://www.johnlscott.com/ are desperate to improve your accommodation in a more affordable location, then Chatham might be the place you are looking for. Nine months ago, three-bedroom houses in Chatham started at around 110,000. Prices are climbing steeply and fast in Chatham and the surrounding area.