Zoopla analysis reveals the stark gap in UK property prices – £200 buys one A4-sized floor space in Birmingham but just a quarter of that in Westminster
05:30, 16 Apr 2026
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The amount of £200 would secure homebuyers in Westminster the equivalent of merely a quarter of an A4 sheet in floor area, while in Birmingham and the West Midlands this sum would typically extend to over two complete sheets, according to research by a property website.
Zoopla conducted the research to demonstrate to homebuyers precisely how much space they can typically anticipate receiving for their money across different locations.
Purchasers in Westminster would need to pay £837 typically for floor area equivalent to one A4 sheet, or £686 in Kensington and Chelsea, and £665 in Camden, the website discovered.
Beyond southern England, homebuyers in major cities including Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Newcastle and Cardiff could purchase a full A4-sized floor space for £200.
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And £200 could secure buyers at least two complete A4 sheets of floor area in locations including Hull, Blackpool, Middlesbrough, Blaenau Gwent and Sunderland, the calculations show.
Examining Scotland, in Edinburgh the average A4-sized floor area costs £204.
And in Yorkshire, an A4-sized floor area in York will typically set purchasers back approximately £209.
Zoopla offers a tool enabling buyers to establish a minimum square footage alongside their budget range. Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: “Our analysis shows that the gap between what £200 gets you in Westminster versus what it buys in the North West is not just a number – it is the difference between a sliver of a page and two full sheets of paper.
“That is the true scale of Britain’s housing divide, and it is something every buyer and homeowner should understand as they plan their next move.”
Zoopla has compiled a breakdown of the most and least affordable locations across the nation’s regions, based on the average price per A4-sized area of floorspace:
East Midlands
Most affordable: Boston, £115
Least affordable: South Northamptonshire, £206
Eastern England
Most affordable: Fenland, £138
Least affordable: St Albans, £351
London
Most affordable: Barking and Dagenham, £273
Least affordable: Westminster, £837
North East
Most affordable: Sunderland, £83
Least affordable: Northumberland, £134
North West
Most affordable: Burnley, £80
Least affordable: Trafford, £212
Scotland
Most affordable: Argyll and Bute, £74
Least affordable: Edinburgh, £204
South East
Most affordable: Portsmouth, £171
Least affordable: Elmbridge, £363
South West
Most affordable: Plymouth, £133
Least affordable: Christchurch, £243
Wales
Most affordable: Blaenau Gwent, £84
Least affordable: Monmouthshire, £179
West Midlands
Most affordable: Stoke-on-Trent, £104
Least affordable: Warwick, £213
Yorkshire and the Humber
Most affordable: North East Lincolnshire, £90 Least affordable: York, £209
