What the UK average house price gets you elsewhere.
As property prices continue it’s spiral to unaffordability here in the UK, other countries across the globe continue to surprise us with what would appear fair priced and dare we say it, cheap property – knock down prices in many cases when compared to the average house prices we have:
UK £286,000
England £299,000
Wales £175,000
Scotland £199,000
Northern Ireland £162,000
London £531,000
The average above prices from Office for National Statistics (ONS) September 2015 shows us that the average price for a home in the UK is now £286,000 so let us see the kind of prices available to us at some popular holiday home / permanent home destinations:
Yes, it is all very well seeing nice photos, we must take in to consideration exact location, proximity to services, transport and availability of work, but the above property will be an average rural location in France which we all know is mostly very nice. The above property is less than 20% the cost of an average home in the UK.
A year in Provence anyone? 339,200€ for farmhouse, stables and swimming pool (£250,156 converted) Legget Immo, Rightmove listing.
OK, so many of us dream of it, but realistically it would be a holiday home at the most, but nonetheless what a superb location and property – A holiday home purchase that is in reach for many and it’s price is the same as an average property price in the UK.
6 bedroom, Alicante, Spanish Villa 349,000€ (£256,523 converted). Stirling Ackroyd.
Another fine property above this time in Spain and from the Stirling Ackroyd Spanish property website, coming in an more or less exactly at the average property price UK. (Having lived in Spain I can say that maybe all year long in this kind of property would become repetative, but as a holiday home then it is not a bad buy at the same prices as an average UK property).
A home in Florida? $382,990 (£259,197 converted). Lovett Estate Agents, Primelocation listing.
The exercise of this blog is not to sell you a home abroad or to advise you to move from the UK, but to showcase how much you can get for your money in other countries where in most cases, services and benefits are very similar. Locations will be in most cases average (we are comparing them against average home prices thus average locations, not prime locations).
Countries such as France and Spain are still seeing price falls or at least, a non moving market and of course, top that with a favourable euro to pound rate then you really are getting great value for your money. Yes, the UK may provide many of us with work, but most of what we work for is going towards keeping the roofs over our heads and in many cases, that roof does not even belong to us as we can not afford to get on the property ladder which is fast pulling up that first step.
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