What the price of an average home in Essex would buy you across the UK
Everyone from first-time buyers to those looking to relocate are stunned at the house prices in the UK at the moment. Where buyers in 1985 could buy a property from anywhere between £27,823 to £29,447, now, some UK residents are looking at putting that amount down on just the deposit - ouch.
The average UK house price was £288,000 in June 2024 (provisional estimate), which is £8,000 higher than 12 months ago, according to the HM land registry. House prices are increasing rapidly across the UK, but for those who live in one of the UK's more expensive counties, it gets even more ridiculous still.
Essex residents pay way more than the average house price across the UK. In fact, according to Rightmove, properties in Essex had an overall average price of £411,260 over the last year - about 50 per cent more than the national average.
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While this is something that Essex residents have learned to endure as part of the county's proximity to London, it is very depressing to see what you can buy with the money it costs to buy a house in Essex elsewhere in the UK. Here are the average property prices in some other counties and big cities across the UK, and what you could buy there with the money used on the average house in Essex - with house price data sourced from Rightmove.
Manchester
Known for being the home of the world's longest-running TV soap opera (Coronation Street) you can get quite the bang for your buck in the huge city of Manchester. Perhaps showing the contrast in house prices in the north and the south of the country, properties in Manchester had an overall average price of £263,132 over the last year, according to Rightmove.
With the £411,260 you would use to buy the average property in Essex, you could buy more than two flats in Manchester. The average flat costs £197,974, with a semi-detached property costing around £300,000 - so you definitely would get way more in terms of space for your money up north.
Hertfordshire
Essex's next door neighbour, Hertfordshire, is known for its historic estates and countryside. Despite being very close to Essex, its house prices are a lot steeper!
Properties in Hertfordshire had an overall average price of £534,625 over the last year, about 20% higher than those in Essex, according to Rightmove. With the average Essex house price, you would struggle to buy a terraced property in the county - but could buy a flat with money to spare, with the average flat in Hertfordshire fetching £277,148.
Liverpool
It is easy to see that there is a trend when it comes to house prices in the north of England. Hometown of the Beatles, Liverpool has some very cheap house prices, with the average being significantly lower than that of the entire UK.
Semi-detached properties in Liverpool sold for an average of £234,683, with flats fetching £140,451. With the money it costs to buy an average property in Essex, you could buy nearly two semi-detached properties, or almost three flats, in Liverpool!
Central London
As expected, you won't be able to get much in Central London for just over £400,000. The majority of sales in Central London during the last year were flats, selling for an average price of £1,322,218 - meaning you wouldn't even be able to buy a third of one.
You could, however, afford to rent in Central London for a short while. According to Foxtons, the average rent in London is now £2,121 per month after +4.2 per cent growth in the last year.
So, you could rent a property in London for about 188.5 months (difficult maths there), or around 15 years. It may be worth cutting your losses and actually owning a property somewhere else, though...
Birmingham
Moving over to the midlands, this place is often referred to as the youngest city in Europe, with 28 per cent of its population being under 20 - and this may have something to do with the relatively cheap house prices. Properties in Birmingham had an overall average price of £248,055 over the last year, the majority of which were terraced properties.
These sold for an average price of £219,240 - so you could almost buy two of these with the average Essex house price cash. You could also buy two and a half flats, which cost £151,951.
Surrey
Once named the poshest and most privileged county, it is no surprise that £400,000 won't get you much in Surrey. Properties in Surrey had an overall average price of £620,190 over the last year - much more than the average property in Essex!
You could only buy a flat in Surrey for the Essex average house price money, as these went for £301,537 in the last year (according to rightmove). Good luck buying a detached property in the county, as these go for well over £1 million!
Edinburgh
Moving out of England in into Scotland, you can get way more for your money in this capital compared to England's capital city! Properties in Edinburgh had an overall average price of £335,808 over the last year, so you could easily buy a property with price of an average home in Essex.
Glasgow
Much cheaper than Edinburgh, properties in Glasgow had an overall average price of £225,250 over the last year. You could easily purchase two properties in this Scottish city - that were lower than average in price - for the cost of one property in Essex.
Cardiff
In Wales you can also get much more bang for your buck, with the average semi-detached property selling for an average of £328,784 in Cardiff. Flats fetch £171,604 - so you can easily purchase most kinds of property here for the cost of the average house in Essex.
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