New study reveals how much you need to earn to buy a house in Plymouth

Sarah Parker
Authored by Sarah Parker
Posted: Monday, October 5, 2020 - 20:18

New data from GoCompare has discovered the salary needed in cities across the UK in order to afford a property, revealing those buying a property in Plymouth at an average cost of £203,200 would need to earn on average £36,594 a year to afford a house, making it one of the more reasonable places in the UK to buy!

In the UK overall the new findings reveal that the average cost of a house in Plymouth is £231,946 which would need a salary of £41,771 to maintain - a fair increase from the national average salary of £29k.

The study analysed 2020 house prices across the nation to find the most expensive and affordable locations to buy a property - and the salary needed to purchase a home in the UK's major towns and cities.

Comparing the standard property types of detached, semi-detached, terraced houses and a flat in Plymouth, naturally, a detached house is the most expensive costing the average person £322,662 needing an investment salary of around £58k.

Property Type

Average Price

Salary needed

Detached

£322,662 £58,108

Semi-Detached

£202,201 £36,414

Terraced

£170,976 £30,791

Flat

£116,960 £21,063

Table 1 - Average price and salary needed for different property types in Plymouth

These are the 5 most expensive locations to buy a home in the UK 

Location Detached Semi-Detached Terraced Flat Average price Salary needed
London £889,308 £581,358 £506,179 £429,401 £601,562 £108,335
Cambridge £820,259 £486,797 £416,693 £273,966 £499,429 £89,942
Oxford £785,439 £495,353 £387,477 £264,118 £483,097 £87,001
Brighton £688,324 £450,193 £403,385 £302,180 £461,021 £83,025
Edinburgh £576,520 £364,937 £290,114 £210,166 £360,434 £64,911

It's no surprise that London tops the list for most expensive, a detached house in the capital costs close to a million, at an eye-watering £889.308.

Flats in London are also highly-priced, costing an average of £429,401. For those with dreams of living in the big city, they'll need an average of £108,335 to buy a home. For the more affordable flat, prospective owners would need a salary of £77,331.

Following London are Cambridge, Oxford and Brighton all in the south, whilst the only northern city to place on the most expensive list is the capital of Scotland - Edinburgh, where the average home price is £360,434.

These are the 5 most affordable locations to buy a home in the UK 

Location Detached Semi-Detached Terraced Flat Average price Salary needed
Burnley £162,429 £106,416 £72,682 £58,895 £100,128 £18,032
Stoke-on-Trent £170,421 £110,767 £86,216 £70,397 £109,450 £19,711
Blackpool £177,680 £121,840 £89,884 £68,723 £114,532 £20,626
Barnsley £191,925 £118,663 £94,765 £73,857 £119,803 £21,575
Middlesborough £208,963 £120,855 £84,846 £70,018 £121,171 £21,822

The most affordable place to live in the UK is in Burnley, where the average cost of a property is £100,128 needing a salary of just over £18k to make ends meet. In the city, a detached house would cost 162k, while a flat is even more affordable at £58,895!

Northern cities are the most affordable locations for prospective homeowners, as you can buy a detached house in Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool and Barnsley for less than £200k. The cheapest home to buy in the entire UK is a flat in Burnley which costs an average of £58,895, which requires a salary of just £10k to maintain comfortably.

Discover the cost of properties across the UK in the full report: https://www.gocompare.com/home-insurance/salary-to-buy/