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 PA15, in the waterfront town of Greenock, Scotland. The average asking price for a property in this postcode is £64,699.
The majority of the top 20 postcodes where you can buy the cheapest properties in the UK are in Scotland, with four of the top five and thirteen of the top 20 postcodes located there. According to the comparison site’s calculations, the cheapest place to buy in England was Bradford (BD1), which ranked in fifth place with an average asking price of £81,610, while the cheapest place to buy in Wales was Ferndale (CF43), with property prices here averaging £96,757. 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 £3,278,055.
The next most expensive postcodes were located in the Isle of Mull off the west coast of Scotland and Much Hadham, a village in Hertfordshire. The average asking prices here were neck-and-neck but a significant step down from Virginia Water, sitting at £2,697,500 and £2,689,229 respectively.
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 £7,053,451 to £4,005,557.
Meanwhile, even the cheapest London postcode – DA18 in Erith Marshes, Bexley – still commanded an average asking price of £251,079, nearly four times as expensive as Greenock.
The full tables are shown below:
The cheapest postcodes to buy property in the UK
| Rank | Postcode | Town | Region | Average Asking Price |
| 1 | PA15 | Greenock | Renfrewshire | £64,69 |
| 2 | KA16 | Newmilns | East Ayrshire | £69,049 |
| 3 | G34 | Easterhouse | Glasgow | £74,130 |
| 4 | KA25 | Kilbirnie | North Ayrshire | £78,110 |
| 5 | BD1 | Bradford City Centre | Bradford | £81,610 |
| 6 | DN31 | Grimsby | North East Lincolnshire | £92,844 |
| 7 | TS2 | Middlehaven | Middlesbrough | £94,291 |
| 8 | DL4 | Shildon | County Durham | £96,443 |
| 9 | CF43 | Ferndale | Rhondda Cynon Taf | £96,757 |
| 10 | TS3 | Thorntree | Middlesbrough | £96,777 |
| 11 | ZE3 | Bush | Shetland | £97,500 |
| 12 | G22 | Milton | Glasgow | £99,250 |
| 13 | KA8 | Dalmilling | South Ayrshire | £99,291 |
| 14 | KA20 | Stevenston | North Ayrshire | £102,227 |
| 15 | KA28 | Millport | North Ayrshire | £104,435 |
| 16 | G21 | Barmulloch | Glasgow | £104,435 |
| 17 | G67 | Cumbernauld | North Lanarkshire | £105,525 |
| 18 | PA3 | Paisley | Renfrewshire | £106,629 |
| 19 | AB24 | Aberdeen | Aberdeen | £110,263 |
| 20 | L4 | Anfield | Liverpool | £110,449 |
The most expensive postcodes to buy property in the UK (excluding London)
| Rank | Postcode | Town | Region | Average Asking Price |
| 1 | GU25 | Virginia Water | Runnymede | £3,278,055 |
| 2 | PA70 | Isle of Mull | Argyllshire | £2,697,500 |
| 3 | SG10 | Much Hadham | East Hertfordshire | £2,689,229 |
| 4 | SL8 | Bourne End | South Buckinghamshire | £2,376,742 |
| 5 | PA44 | Isle of Islay | Argyllshire | £1,826,429 |
| 6 | KT13 | Weybridge | Elmbridge | £1,809,080 |
| 7 | EH38 | North Middleton | Midlothian | £1,582,398 |
| 8 | HP9 | Beaconsfield | Chiltern | £1,550,392 |
| 9 | GL9 | Badminton | Gloucester | £1,470,141 |
| 10 | GU20 | Windlesham | Surrey Heath | £1,464,692 |
| 11 | WD7 | Shenley | Hertsmere | £1,419,058 |
| 12 | TQ8 | Salcombe | South Hams | £1,416,007 |
| 13 | HP8 | Chalfont Saint Giles | South Buckinghamshire | £1,390,590 |
| 14 | BH13 | Canford Cliffs | Poole | £1,368,257 |
| 15 | TN7 | Hartfield | Wealden | £1,339,082 |
| 16 | KT11 | Cobham | Elmbridge | £1,329,113 |
| 17 | RG9 | Hambleden | South Oxfordshire | £1,278,068 |
| 18 | SO42 | Beaulieu | New Forest | £1,274,018 |
| 19 | GU8 | Chiddingfold | Waverley | £1,261,512 |
| 20 | SL5 | Ascot | Windsor and Maidenhead | £1,243,449 |
Additional data showed some interesting results. The top-ranking postcode for sellers netting more than their asking price for a property sale was NE49 in Haltwhistle, Northumberland, where sellers managed to make 120% of the asking price, on average.
Meanwhile, the quickest sales were completed in HR3, in Hay on Wye, Hereford. In this postcode, properties sold in just 32 days on average, a third of the overall UK average.
You can read about GetAgent’s findings in full in their report here.
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.
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 speak to an independent mortgage broker with Unbiased. Every advisor you find through Unbiased will be FCA-regulated, qualified and unconnected to product providers – so they can offer you truly unbiased advice.
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.
If you’re looking for somewhere to start, you can get expert advice from an independent equity release specialist with Unbiased. They’ll listen to your needs and talk you through your options, so you can decide if equity release is the right option for you.
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