A new report ranks local authorities in England based on their average house price this year – 4 out of the top 5 cheapest places to buy a house are within the Lancashire area.
With constant inflation rises, the opportunity for first time buyers to get a mortgage offer that is affordable and reasonable very difficult. This is leaving people either not moving out at all or paying to rent a place instead.
Due to this significant increase, BLG Development Finance and Online Marketing Surgery have created their House Price Report, ranking areas in the UK based on their average house price for the year. This determines the best and worst areas to buy a property.
Key Findings:
🏠 Burnley, a town in Lancashire, is the cheapest local authority in England to buy a house with an average house price of £109,939.
🏠 The area with the highest average house prices is Kensington and Chelsea in Middlesex at a huge £1,332,891.
🏠 County Durham was the best county to buy a house in 2023, with the ceremonial county having an average total house price of £126,611.
🏠 Surrey, in the South East of England, is the most expensive county for a house with their average house price being £519,980.
🏠 The average house price for the whole of the United Kingdom is 304,312. This is an increase from 2022, with the average price being £302,083.
Top 5 cheapest areas to buy a house
- Burnley – £109,939
The town in Lancashire is the best area to buy a house, with Burnley having the cheapest average house price this year at £109,939. This amount is more than £10,000 cheaper than the second placed local authority on the list. Despite inflation rises in 2023, this is a reduction compared to last years house price average of £113,333.
- Hyndburn – £123,445
Another area in the county Lancashire makes the list, with the town of Hyndburn having an average house price of £123,445. This is a decrease from the £125,862 house price average throughout the year 2022.
- County Durham – £125,862
The third cheapest area to buy a house is in the ceremonial county of County Durham, with an average price of £125,862. This is the only area that is outside of Lancashire in the top five. Compared to last year, this is a slight increase to the £125,215 average house price in 2022.
- Pendle – £131,929
Pendle, local government district in Lancashire, is one of the cheapest areas in England to buy a house with an average price of £131,929. Due to the constant rise in house prices, this average is an increase to last year’s £129,914 figure.
- Blackpool – £132,675
Blackpool rounds out the top 5 cheapest house price list, with the seaside resort in Lancashire having an average price of £132,675. This is a reduction to last year’s house price average of £133,515.
Top 20 areas with the cheapest average house prices
| Burnley | Lancashire | £109,939 |
| Hyndburn | Lancashire | £123,445 |
| County Durham | County Durham | £125,862 |
| Pendle | Lancashire | £131,929 |
| Blackpool | Lancashire | £132,675 |
| Sunderland | Tyne and Wear | £139,433 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | Staffordshire | £140,051 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | Lancashire | £143,505 |
| North East Lincolnshire | Lincolnshire | £149,869 |
| Gateshead | Tyne and Wear | £152,136 |
| Preston | Lancashire | £159,671 |
| South Tyneside | Tyne and Wear | £161,806 |
| Barnsley | South Yorkshire | £162,359 |
| Doncaster | South Yorkshire | £163,175 |
| Cumberland | Cumbria | £165,792 |
| Bradford | West Yorkshire | £171,310 |
| Liverpool | Merseyside | £175,712 |
| Bolsover | Derbyshire | £176,051 |
| Knowsley | Merseyside | £178,015 |
| St Helens | Merseyside | £178,503 |
Top 20 areas with the highest average house prices
| Kensington and Chelsea | Middlesex | £1,332,891 |
| City of Westminster | Middlesex | £1,009,314 |
| City of London | Middlesex | £908,518 |
| Camden | Middlesex | £855,575 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | Middlesex | £783,233 |
| Richmond Upon Thames | Surrey | £752,684 |
| Islington | Middlesex | £703,794 |
| Elmbridge | Surrey | £687,722 |
| Hackney | Middlesex | £632,091 |
| Wandsworth | Surrey | £625,982 |
| Haringey | Middlesex | £603,861 |
| Barnet | Middlesex | £588,711 |
| St Albans | Hertfordshire | £587,451 |
| Three Rivers | Hertfordshire | £579,474 |
| Merton | Surrey | £577,595 |
| Mole Valley | Surrey | £564,510 |
| Lambeth | Surrey | £555,121 |
| Waverley | Surrey | £549,058 |
| Kingston Upon Thames | Surrey | £546,965 |
| Epsom and Ewell | Surrey | £545,569 |
Methodology:
Sourced the data from the House Price Index from the Office for National Statistics, which shown the average house price in each area of the UK for every month of the year.
From this, we went through every local authority and worked out the average house price for the year. We done this by taking individual figures for all the months and divided it by the amount of months they are in a year. We used the same process when looking at the county and country data.
Also, we looked at past years data and used the same process to find the average house price to compare with the recent year’s figures.
After getting all the averages, this is when we started to rank all the areas based on their house prices.