London is one of the least affordable places for solo buyers

Dec 16, 2020 by London-TV in Business

Getting on the housing ladder is hard enough at the best of times, but it can be that little bit harder if you’re looking to buy a home on your own, with nobody to split the costs with.

And some places across the country are pricing out solo buyers – including London.

New research from Coulters Property has looked at 30 of the most populated towns and cities across the UK to reveal which are the most affordable for solo buyers.

The 3 least affordable places for solo buyers

Town/City	Average One-Bed Property Price	Estimated Monthly Mortgage Payments*	Estimated Monthly Cost of Living	Average Monthly Earnings	Mortgage & Living Expenses as % of Earnings
London	£454,937	£1,834	£843	£2,711	98.7%
Brighton & Hove	£249,902	£1,007	£773	£2,322	76.7%
Reading	£226,862	£914	£692	£2,333	68.9%

It’s no surprise to see London is the least affordable city when buying on your own (or even with someone else for that matter), but it is shocking that the monthly mortgage costs and living expenses for a one-bed property equates to almost all of a Londoner’s average wage – 98.7%.

Each of the three least affordable cities were located in the south of England, with Brighton & Hove, on the south coast, taking second place and Reading taking third.

The 10 most affordable cities for solo buyers

Rank	Town/City	Average One-Bed Property Price	Estimated Monthly Mortgage Payments*	Estimated Monthly Cost of Living	Average Monthly Earnings	Mortgage & Living Expenses as % of Earnings
1	Bradford	£67,370	£272	£597	£1,983	43.8%
2	Derby	£86,578	£349	£640	£2,196	45.1%
3	Belfast	£99,480	£401	£569	£2,129	45.5%
4	Glasgow	£102,993	£415	£612	£2,142	47.9%
5	Aberdeen	£80,830	£326	£674	£2,069	48.3%
6	Stoke-on-Trent	£77,585	£313	£646	£1,973	48.6%
7	Leicester	£103,762	£418	£641	£2,164	49.0%
8	Leeds	£128,253	£517	£601	£2,198	50.9%
9	Liverpool	£106,948	£431	£643	£2,080	51.6%
10	Sheffield	£105,291	£424	£621	£1,996	52.4%

Bradford in West Yorkshire is the most affordable place for those looking to buy a home on their own, as cheap house prices means that those in Bradford only need to put around 44% of their earnings towards their mortgage and living expenses.

Derby is the second most affordable, with mortgage and living expenses taking up 45.1% of earnings and Belfast is the third most affordable, where 45.5% of earnings go on day to day living and paying off the average mortgage.