We all know that buying a property is one of the biggest and most important purchases you will ever make, but property in some areas of the UK is disproportionately more expensive than others, while London house prices remain out of reach for many.
There are, however, towns and cities where you can buy a family house under £100,000, reflecting the huge north/south divide, with many cheaper properties to be found in the north of England. If you are a family with a limited budget and need a larger house then you might be able to compromise and consider relocating your home.
If you are looking for a property with three bedrooms or more, Liverpool comes top of the list for affordable family homes. Liverpool currently has over 600 houses for sale on the outskirts of the city centre which are ideal for commuting to work. Next on the list is Rotherham, with 449 homes under £100,000 and Newcastle-upon-Tyne which has just short of 400 houses.
Sam Mitchell of online estate agent, Housesimple, has researched the top 15 most affordable cities based on the number of homes coming in at less than £100,000 – all of them in the north of the England:
Cheaper properties are available if you are willing to relocate and you may even find an improvement to your family’s quality of life, employment, education and family ties.
If you’re tempted, consider also that you may get better value for your money up north. Houses being marketed at under £100,000 are still at the lower end of the market but you are likely to get a bigger property compared to some of the larger southern cities. If you looking for an even better deal, there are currently several three bedroom family homes being advertised in Northumberland for just £30,000 to £50,000.
If the north isn’t really for you, it will come as no surprise that cities including London, Bath, Bristol, Brighton and Cambridge have no properties at all below £100,000. But you can still live in those places if you consider becoming a landlord as well as a tenant. Properties in the north are excellent value for buy-to-let landlords and could even subsidise an expensive rental property if you want to live in a place where you can earn more money.
Wherever you live in England or Wales, getting your potential new home assessed by a chartered property surveyor will ensure that your home won’t cost you more in the long run with unexpected issues.
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