2 Bedroom Middlesbrough or 2 Bedroom Dagenham.

February 15, 2016

There has always been a North and South divide and this is of course not just in terms of football… House prices have also been very wide apart, though with increasing prices in London this is surely at a level which was never the case before?

Of course, if we compare a detached residential property in Mayfair with a one bedroom flat in an ex mining village in Wales, then we will see a difference in figures that a pocket calculator would not hold… But I have picked two property on Rightmove, one North and the other South, very similar in location ie a major town, same sized and similar style of property and neighbourhood. Both nice property and ideal for first time buyers, young family or for retired couples etc.

Comparing both with a 15 year mortgage, first we have this two bedroom terraced in South Bank, Middlesbrough coming in at £17,500. A monthly repayment of £118 and a deposit of 10%, ie £1,7500.

or 16 times more expensive price and 16 times more expensive in monthly mortgage payments in a similar location, ie prominently ex-council property estate is this:

Both are close to major towns, though of course the property in Dagenham is close to London which is the Holy Grail it would appear for everyone… But the property in South Bank is still only 2.5 miles from a major town, Middlesbrough, has the same local amenities, though of course employment situation may be slightly different both in availability of work and average salary. If you have a business online though, and you are not precious on living near to London, the divide in prices in immense.

We have not looked at prices in between though which at some point will meet in the middle, not sure how far North / South you’ll be required to travel to get that ‘middle price’.

Land Registry, House Price Index 29th January 2016 report.

Christopher Walkey

Founder of Estate Agent Networking. Internationally invited speaker on how to build online target audiences using Social Media. Writes about UK property prices, housing, politics and affordable homes.

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