If you’re planning on downsizing to free up funds for retirement, new research has revealed the cheapest postcodes to buy a house or flat in the UK.
The report, published by estate agent comparison site GetAgent, includes the most expensive postcodes outside of London for buying a property, as well as additional findings on home-selling trends.
The least expensive postcode to buy a property in the UK is PA25, in Cairndow, Argyllshire, Scotland. The average asking price for a property in this postcode was just under £55,000 in 2023.
Half of the top 20 postcodes where you can buy the cheapest properties in the UK are in Scotland, including Renfrewshire, Glasgow and North Ayrshire. All three of these regions have average selling prices of less than £130,000. According to the comparison site’s calculations, the cheapest place to buy in England was Berwick Hills in Middlesbrough (TS3), which ranked in second place with an average asking price of £95,104, while the cheapest place to buy in Wales was Ferndale (CF43), with property prices here averaging £118,990. Northern Ireland did not make an appearance in the top 20.
The research, carried out using GetAgent’s own listings data, also revealed that the most expensive postcode in the UK outside of London was the GU25 postcode in the village of Virginia Water, Surrey. The average asking price for a property in the area came in at an eye-watering £3,524,879.
The next most expensive postcodes were located in the Isle of Islay in Argyllshire, Scotland and Beaulieu in the New Forest. The average asking prices here were almost neck-and-neck but a significant step down from Virginia Water, sitting at £2,878,342 and £2,773,642 respectively.
If you’re thinking of putting a property up for sale, you can see which agents will do the best job of selling your home, based on past performance, using the GetAgent.co.uk website.
When London was included, the top 10 most expensive postcodes in the UK all sat in the City of Westminster, with average asking prices ranging from £7,928,403 to £4,316,250.
The full tables are shown below:
The cheapest postcodes to buy property in the UK
| Rank | Postcode | Town | Region | Average Asking Price |
| 1 | PA25 | Cairndow | Argyllshire | £54,746 |
| 2 | TS3 | Berwick Hills | Middlesbrough | £95,104 |
| 3 | PA15 | Greenock | Renfrewshire | £96,493 |
| 4 | DL4 | Shildon | County Durham | £96,523 |
| 5 | KA16 | Newmilns, Greenholm | East Ayrshire | £98,903 |
| 6 | G34 | Easterhouse | Glasgow | £103,182 |
| 7 | G21 | Barmulloch, Sighthill | Glasgow | £111,528 |
| 8 | SR8 | Easington, Easington Colliery | County Durham | £112,919 |
| 9 | S4 | Grimesthorpe, Pitsmoor | Sheffield | £113,506 |
| 10 | KA20 | Stevenston, Auchenharvie | North Ayrshire | £114,969 |
| 11 | PA3 | Paisley (Northwest), Linwood | Renfrewshire | £116,933 |
| 12 | KA8 | Dalmilling, Craigie | South Ayrshire | £118,286 |
| 13 | CF43 | Ferndale, Blaenllechau | Rhondda Cynon Taf | £118,378 |
| 14 | BD1 | Bradford city centre | Bradford | £118,990 |
| 15 | KA12 | Irvine | North Ayrshire | £119,595 |
| 16 | L28 | Stockbridge Village | Liverpool | £120,057 |
| 17 | DN31 | Grimsby | North East Lincolnshire | £120,682 |
| 18 | AB16 | Mastrick, Northfield | Aberdeen | £122,637 |
| 19 | SN38 | Swindon | Swindon | £125,000 |
| 20 | L4 | Anfield, Kirkdale, Walton | Liverpool | £125,830 |
The most expensive postcodes to buy property in the UK (excluding London)
| Rank | Postcode | Town | Region | Average Asking Price |
| 1 | GU25 | Virginia Water, Wentworth | Runnymede | £3,524,879 |
| 2 | PA44 | Isle Of Islay | Argyllshire | £3,000,000 |
| 3 | SO42 | Beaulieu | New Forest | £2,878,342 |
| 4 | SL8 | Bourne End | South Buckinghamshire | £2,773,642 |
| 5 | TR23 | Bryher | Isles of Scilly | £2,500,000 |
| 6 | OX49 | Watlington | South Oxfordshire | £2,377,418 |
| 7 | WD7 | Shenley, Radlett | Hertsmere | £2,233,024 |
| 8 | BA20 | Yeovil | South Somerset | £2,222,064 |
| 9 | M2 | Deansgate | Manchester | £2,219,279 |
| 10 | UB9 | Denham | South Buckinghamshire | £2,157,038 |
| 11 | MK1 | Denbigh, Mount Farm | Milton Keynes | £2,042,857 |
| 12 | GL9 | Badminton | Gloucester | £2,011,842 |
| 13 | SG10 | Much Hadham | East Hertfordshire | £2,010,585 |
| 14 | GU8 | Chiddingfold, Milford | Waverley | £1,814,036 |
| 15 | KT13 | Weybridge | Elmbridge | £1,704,541 |
| 16 | HP9 | Beaconsfield | Chiltern | £1,693,595 |
| 17 | WR12 | Broadway | Wychavon | £1,635,746 |
| 18 | GU20 | Windlesham | Surrey Heath | £1,627,461 |
| 19 | BN45 | Poynings, Saddlescombe | Mid Sussex | £1,499,583 |
| 20 | BH13 | Canford Cliffs, Sandbanks | Poole | £1,487,478 |
Additional data showed some interesting results. The top-ranking postcode for sellers netting more than their asking price for a property sale was B2, Birmingham City Centre, where sellers managed to make 113% of the asking price, on average.
Meanwhile, the quickest sales were completed in East Lothian’s EH40. In this postcode, properties sold in just 27 days on average, less than a third of the time it takes an average UK property to sell.
You can read about GetAgent’s findings in full in The GetAgent Sellers Report 2024.
Advice for buying a property
Buying a new property can be a complicated process, from finding the right property to securing a mortgage. Our article 11 Common mistakes homebuyers make (and how to avoid them) lists some common traps that homebuyers fall into so that you know what to look out for when finding a new home. If you’re thinking about downsizing, our guide Five questions to ask yourself if you’re considering downsizing your home might come in handy too.
Want to speak to a mortgage advisor? Speaking to an experienced mortgage advisor can help you to understand your options and get a great deal on your mortgage.
If you’re looking for expert mortgage advice, you can get a free consultation with an independent mortgage adviser at Fidelius. Speak with a qualified, FCA-regulated, independent mortgage adviser you can trust. Rated 4.7/5 on VouchedFor from over 1,250 reviews.
Advice for remortgaging a property or equity release
If you’ve decided to stay put and are looking to get the most out of your property, you may find some of our guides helpful. For example, our guides Five good reasons to remortgage right now and How much does it cost to remortgage? could help if you’re about to come to the end of your current mortgage deal. Alternatively, you might be considering releasing equity from your home if it has risen in value and you want to unlock some of this property wealth, perhaps to help supplement your retirement income.
Want to speak to a mortgage advisor? Speaking to an experienced mortgage advisor can help you to understand your options and get a great deal on your mortgage.
If you’re looking for expert mortgage advice, you can get a free consultation with an independent mortgage adviser at Fidelius. Speak with a qualified, FCA-regulated, independent mortgage adviser you can trust. Rated 4.7/5 on VouchedFor from over 1,250 reviews.
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