Savills UK | Savills reveals how much space the average house price can buy you across Great Britain

The analysis of data at a parliamentary consistency level revealed that the most amount of square footage can be bought in the North East of England, where a buyer would be able to purchase a 1,955 sq ft home, on average, which is a typical medium-sized five-bedroom house.

This is more than 3.5 times the space that this amount will buy you in London, where just 551 sq ft can be purchased, or a medium-sized one-bedroom flat.

What the average house price buys in each region

Savills: Savills research using HMLR, Registers of Scotland, EPC certificates, Zoopla

“Whenever we talk about the housing market, we tend to fall into the trap of referring to the mythical average home owned by the ‘average’ household. But individual’s housing decisions are rarely driven by the mean or median house price, comments Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills.

“Exactly what an average just shy of £341,000 can allow you to purchase varies dramatically across Great Britain, from a small studio flat in central London to a large four or five-bedroom house in parts of North East England.

“This has significant implications for who can buy where and, in turn, the pressures on different types and tenures of housing in different locations.  It also dictates how far households have to stretch themselves financially to meet their housing aspirations in the place they would like to call home. 

“The resulting trade-off between space and location dictates how far we commute, how we spend our free time, the environment in which we raise our families and the quality of life we enjoy in our retirement. It’s what makes the housing market so fascinating. But it also has implications for labour and social mobility, which is why housing and the building of new homes remain so important from both a political and economic perspective.”

Where the most and least space can be bought

With the average house price (£198,403) sitting well below the national average in the North East, £340,837 will secure you significantly more space, generally, and as much as a five-bedroom house across almost half of the 29 constituencies in the North East.

While average earnings are typically lower (£56,492), the North East has the lowest house price-to-income ratio at 3.5, meaning that affordability is the least stretched in this location. 

In Scotland, the same amount will buy you a four bedroom house or larger across 86% of the 59 constituencies.

After London, the least amount of space can be bought in the South East. Here a buyer will only be able to purchase a two-bedroom home (or 825 sq ft), or smaller, across 62% of constituencies.

However two of the five locations where the least amount of space can be bought (outside of London) are located in the East of England (St Albans and Soth West Hertfordshire).

Outside of London: most and least space

Savills: Savills research using HMLR, Registers of Scotland, EPC certificates, Zoopla

London’s squeeze

An average house price of £340,837 can only secure you a studio or one-bedroom flat in three quarters of London’s 73 constituencies.

While households living in London typically earn more (£123,367 on average), affordability is the most stretched in this region with the average house price to income ratio sitting at 4.8. Saving for a deposit, in particular, is the biggest barrier for Londoners as average deposits typically make up 171% of the average income.

The average house price in London will allow you to purchase the least amount of space in prime locations Kensington (220 sq ft), the City of London and Westminster (236 sq ft), and Chelsea and Fulham (277 sq ft). While the largest amount of space can be bought in Erith and Thamesmead (780 sq ft), Barking (778 sq ft) and Dagenham and Rainham (770 sq ft).