We often hear of a North-South divide in UK property prices, with the boundary being the watford gap. It is said that the South of the UK has more expensive property prices.
So here at Quick Property Buyer, we have looked at a 2020 study of 2 bedroom flats around the country by Finder to see which UK cities are the most expensive to buy property. Please see the top 8 below.
- Birmingham
The average price of a 2 bedroom city centre flat is £185,000 which is 125% of the global average. This translated to £3,134 per square metre. In geographical terms, Birmingham is in the East Midlands. For the sake of this North South review, lets say it is in the middle.
- Manchester
The average cost of an apartment in Manchester is £227,000 which is 153% of the world average, meaning £3,844 per square metre. Manchester is in the North West.
- Edinburgh
This is our one city in Scotland. The average cost of a flat in Edinburgh is £243,000 which amounts to 164% of the world average. Price per square metre here is £4,119.
- Bristol
Next is the biggest city in the West Country, which for our purposes falls in the South. To buy an equivalent flat in Bristol would cost you on average £264,000, which is 178% of the global average and costs £4,940 per area metre.
- Liverpool
Coming in as the 4th most expensive city is Liverpool, which is in the North West. The average price for a 2 bed city centre flat in Liverpool is £293,000. This comes out as £4,960 per square metre and is 198% of the average for the world.
- Brighton
This city on the South coast of England is in commuting distance from London. The average cost here is £323,000 which is over 218% of the global average. This translates to being £5,463 per square metre. Living by the sea can be expensive.
- Cambridge
This historic city comes in as the second most expensive city in the UK. It is located in East England, which for our purposes we will categorise as in the South. The average cost of a similar apartment here is a whopping £336,000. This is 234% of the global average and £5,862 pcm. If you have children who go to Cambridge university, buying them a flat may not be so easy.
- London
And of course coming in t number 1 is London. What is amazing about prices in London, is that it is more than double Cambridge, the next most expensive city. So to buy a city centre 2 bed flat in London would on average set you back £758,000. This is a staggering 512% of the world average and over £12,824 per square metre. Unless you have rich and generous parents, buying a flat in the centre of London is going to be a struggle for first time buyers.
In conclusion, 4 of the cities are in the South, 1 in the middle and 3 are in the North. So although generally speaking the South is more expensive, in city terms there is not such a clear divide.
If you would like to sell your city centre flat quickly for cash, please get in touch with Quick Property Buyer. We can complete in as quickly as 7 days.