With house prices hitting all time highs, demand through the roof, and no sign of increased availability in the coming years, first-time buyers are in a difficult position. But there are still a number of regions within the British Isles where a new build home can be purchased for less than £200,000.
The average UK house price is now well north of £250,000. For first-time buyers, this is a big sum of money. And for first-time buyers who want to buy a house, not a flat, there is a severe shortage of availability for the average budget.
But, new homes are always popping up across the country and, if the government’s housebuilding ambitions come to fruition, they’ll be popping up at a faster and faster rate. But not all of them are going to be very affordable.
In Northumberland, for example, the average new build home costs just over £246,000. In Plymouth, it’s £243,000. In Manchester, £239,000. In Ipswich, £238,000. And so the story goes for Liverpool, Southampton, Derby, and Sheffield to name just a few. All of these places have an average new build price of more than £200,000.
But the good news is, there are 22 places where a new build house will cost you less than £200,000, and they’re not where you might expect them to be.
The most affordable new build homes are found in Hyndburn, near Blackburn, Lancashire. Here, the average new build home costs just £105,000.
In Burnley, the average is £134,000. In Lincoln, it’s £181,000. In Doncaster, it’s £183,000. And in West Lindsey, Lincolnshire, it’s £198,000.
Bethan Griffiths, COO of Warwick Estates, commented:
“New build homes will always attract a premium when compared to the wider market and so those looking to climb the new build ladder will always need a little more in the savings pot.
“However, there seems to be a common misconception that new build homes are vastly unaffordable but as the figures show, the average new build home costs less than £250,000 across nearly a quarter of all areas in England.
“So not only can a new build home be purchased at a relatively affordable price point, but those currently in the market for one have a good chance of still securing a stamp duty free sale.”
The rest of the places where the average new build home costs less than £200,000 are:
- Burnley
- Blackpool
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Hartlepool
- County Durham
- Barnsley
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Copeland
- Pendle
- Gateshead
- Kingston-upon-Hull
- Barrow-in-Ferness
- East Lindsey
- Wirral
- Newcastle-under-Lyme
- South Holland
- Boston
- Bolton
