The cheapest cities to buy a house in the UK

The UK's cheapest and most expensive cities to buy a property.

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By

Emily Herring

&

Sophie Barber

Updated

Fact checked

The average city dweller in the UK will need to save up for more than 8 years to afford a down payment on a home and get on the property ladder. However, there is a big difference between cities, and some are cheaper to buy a house in than others.

We’ve calculated how long it takes to save up for a mortgage deposit in 60 cities across the UK. By comparing the average salary in each city with the average local house prices, we’ve worked out how long Brits would take to save for a 15% deposit in their area if they saved 15% of their monthly income in an account with an average savings rate.

Quick overview

  • Aberdeen is the cheapest UK city to buy a house, as locals can save for a deposit in 4 years and 2 months.
  • Meanwhile, for those living in St. Albans, it will take 16 years on average to save for a deposit.
  • The average deposit need to buy a house in a UK city is £40,951.
  • It would take the average city dweller 8 years and 6 months to save for a deposit on a house.
  • The average house price in a UK city is almost 8 times as much as the average UK salary.

What is the cheapest city to buy a house in the UK?

1. Aberdeen: 4 years and 2 months
2. Durham: 4 years and 10 months
3. Hull: 4 years and 11 months
4. Stoke-on-Trent: 5 years and 1 month
5. Dundee: 5 years and 1 month
6. Sunderland: 5 years and 5 months
7. Glasgow: 5 years and 6 months
8. Belfast: 5 years and 8 months
9. Lincoln: 6 years and 1 month
10. Doncaster: 6 years and 1 month
City Average house price 15% deposit Monthly salary after tax 15% saved per month How many months for deposit?
Aberdeen £140,627 £21,094 £2,640 £396 4 years 2 months
Durham £129,853 £19,478 £2,108 £316 4 years 10 months
Kingston upon Hull £135,019 £20,253 £2,135 £320 4 years 11 months
Dundee £153,664 £23,050 £2,346 £352 5 years 1 month
Stoke-on-Trent £140,729 £21,109 £2,129 £319 5 years 1 month
Sunderland £146,526 £21,979 £2,091 £314 5 years 5 months
Glasgow £183,494 £27,524 £2,551 £383 5 years 6 months
Belfast £165,949 £24,892 £2,230 £334 5 years 8 months
Lincoln £179,272 £26,891 £2,244 £337 6 years 1 month
Doncaster £170,716 £25,607 £2,133 £320 6 years 1 month
Derby £207,959 £31,194 £2,570 £385 6 years 2 months
Liverpool £186,730 £28,010 £2,317 £348 6 years 2 months
Bradford £177,733 £26,660 £2,171 £326 6 years 3 months
Preston £168,524 £25,279 £2,004 £301 6 years 4 months
Coventry £226,991 £34,049 £2,693 £404 6 years 5 months
Wolverhampton £197,738 £29,661 £2,228 £334 6 years 8 months
Wakefield £204,570 £30,686 £2,276 £341 6 years 9 months
Newcastle £200,572 £30,086 £2,225 £334 6 years 9 months
Wrexham £196,368 £29,455 £2,199 £330 6 years 9 months
Swansea £198,192 £29,729 £2,167 £325 6 years 10 months
Lancaster £209,177 £31,377 £2,256 £338 6 years 11 months
Salford £213,634 £32,045 £2,288 £343 7 years
Nottingham £193,339 £29,001 £2,084 £313 7 years
Plymouth £224,419 £33,663 £2,277 £342 7 years 4 months
Manchester £243,985 £36,598 £2,423 £363 7 years 6 months
Southampton £243,861 £36,579 £2,415 £362 7 years 6 months
Sheffield £223,965 £33,595 £2,221 £333 7 years 6 months
Birmingham £234,517 £35,178 £2,262 £339 7 years 8 months
Portsmouth £259,943 £38,991 £2,482 £372 7 years 9 months
Perth £243,545 £36,532 £2,321 £348 7 years 9 months
Newport £235,952 £35,393 £2,265 £340 7 years 9 months
Leeds £246,187 £36,928 £2,300 £345 7 years 11 months
Stirling £256,564 £38,485 £2,309 £346 8 years 2 months
Peterborough £248,694 £37,304 £2,246 £337 8 years 2 months
Gloucester £253,343 £38,001 £2,253 £338 8 years 3 months
Norwich £251,104 £37,666 £2,225 £334 8 years 3 months
Leicester £232,324 £34,849 £2,069 £310 8 years 3 months
Cardiff £268,405 £40,261 £2,334 £350 8 years 5 months
Milton Keynes £325,587 £48,838 £2,636 £395 8 years 11 months
Chester £275,035 £41,255 £2,243 £337 8 years 11 months
Worcester £271,194 £40,679 £2,204 £331 8 years 11 months
Edinburgh £343,520 £51,528 £2,541 £381 9 years 8 months
York £320,683 £48,102 £2,311 £347 9 years 11 months
Exeter £315,229 £47,284 £2,246 £337 10 years
Colchester £312,094 £46,814 £2,211 £332 10 years
Lichfield £311,841 £46,776 £2,178 £327 10 years 2 months
Bristol £350,927 £52,639 £2,430 £365 10 years 3 months
Hereford £302,636 £45,395 £2,067 £310 10 years 4 months
Bournemouth £339,845 £50,977 £2,291 £344 10 years 6 months
Southend-on-Sea £331,521 £49,728 £2,133 £320 10 years 11 months
Chelmsford £394,053 £59,108 £2,339 £351 11 years 8 months
Canterbury £389,684 £58,453 £2,280 £342 11 years 9 months
Brighton and Hove £427,162 £64,074 £2,316 £347 12 years 7 months
London £537,424 £80,614 £2,814 £422 12 years 11 months
Cambridge £515,926 £77,389 £2,678 £402 13 years
Oxford £498,261 £74,739 £2,565 £385 13 years 1 month
Bath £454,062 £68,109 £2,337 £351 13 years 1 month
Winchester £492,648 £73,897 £2,352 £353 13 years 11 months
Chichester £465,154 £69,773 £2,126 £319 14 years 5 months
St Albans £611,592 £91,739 £2,454 £368 16 years

1. Aberdeen

Our research found that Aberdeen is the cheapest city in the UK to buy a house, with an average house price of just £140,627 and a comparatively high yearly salary of £40,672. Those living in Aberdeen can save for 4 years and 2 months on average before buying a house.

2. Durham

Durham also scores highly as the second cheapest city in the UK for buying property. The average house price is the lowest of the cities we looked at, at just £140,627, meaning that you would need just over £21,000 to put down a 15% deposit. The average salary in among the lowest in the list, but the low average house price makes up for this.

3. Hull

Hull comes in as the third cheapest city to buy a house in the UK, with the average buyer taking just under 5 years to save up for a 15% deposit. The average house price is low in Hull, at just £135,019, while the average earnings come in at £31,755 a year. Hull was also awarded as the UK’s City of Culture in 2017!

4. Stoke-on-Trent

Another good city to live in if you’re saving up for a deposit on a house is Stoke-on-Trent. The average house price is among the lowest, at £146,526, while a resident in the city will earn £31,651 a year.

5. Dundee

Scotland appears again in the cheapest cities to buy a house, with Dundee coming in fifth place. Average yearly earnings are closer to the top end, at £35,489, while the average house price is £153,664.

What are the most expensive cities in the UK to buy a house?

1. St Albans: 16 years
2. Chichester: 14 years and 5 months
3. Winchester: 13 years and 11 months
4. Oxford: 13 years and 1 month
5. Bath: 13 years and 1 month
6. Cambridge: 13 years
7. London: 12 years and 11 months
8. Brighton: 12 years and 7 months
9. Canterbury: 11 years and 9 months
10. Chelmsford: 11 years and 8 months

For all media enquiries, please contact

Matt Mckenna
UK communications manager
T: +44 20 8191 8806
matt.mckenna@finder.com@MichHutchison/in/matthewmckenna2

Methodology

  • Finder took the average income in 60 cities across the UK as found by ONS.
  • Average monthly net income was then calculated from gross income.
  • 15% of the net income was taken to give the amount saved each month, and an annual AER of 3.2% was applied – the monthly interest rate for variable cash ISAs in November 2023.
  • The average property price for each city was taken from the Land Registry as of September 2023, and Finder then calculated how long it would take to reach 15% of the average property value in each city as a deposit, using the saving method above.
  • The calculations are based on current economic conditions, including house prices, but please note that these are changeable over time as this research is a conceptual experiment based on current house prices, savings rates etc.

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