With an average price of over £224,000 (that’s 272,700  Euro or $350,109 US), British homes are still some of the most expensive in the world to buy. Although house prices in the UK have started to go down, the desire amongst UK residents to keep buying property remains, it is essentially a very British thing.

Buying 

The price of a house in the UK is strongly influenced by its location (as the saying goes: “location, location, location!”). Many studies show that Brits are usually quite happy to live in a smaller house if it is located near to the train or underground station, a good school, or just the best shops and bars.

London is obviously the most expensive place to live, with an average house price of £406,608, a lot more than most people can afford to pay. While some of the cheapest places for sale can be found in the Scottish countryside, mainly because there are very few jobs to be found in this area and not many busy towns and cities nearby.

Here is a list of some average house prices in the main UK regions:

(Jan-March 2010)

If you like the idea of buying a house then have a look at our listings in  "Find a..".

Rent

The cost of renting an apartment or house depends greatly on its location, the size (how many bedrooms) and the quality of the property. Each town will have areas where the rent is cheap and areas where it is expensive. As a rule, the closer you are to transport links, such as main roads, train stations and, in London’s case, The Underground, then the more expensive the rent.

Apartments described as ‘ex-council’ tend to be cheaper; this is because they are likely to be basic properties with low ceilings and old kitchen appliances. However, these are often considered bargains in a place like London, because many ex-council apartment blocks (council estates) are situated right in the centre of town and are very close to the central shopping and business areas. A lot of people will quite happily live in an old council estate if it means that they can walk into town.

If you like the idea of renting a house then have a look at our listings in  "Find a.." or Look at the list below if you are planning to rent in the UK, this will give you some idea of how much rent you will pay each year.

Average annual rents in UK 2007:

By John Hillman

To be listed here click

USEFUL WORDS

cost / price
property market = the number and type of houses available to buy / rent at the moment
mortgage = a legal agreement by which a bank or similar organisation lends you money to buy a house
interest rates = the amount of money in per cent that you have to pay back when you borrow money from a bank
cheap / expensive
affordable = you have enough money to buy something
average
bargain = a very good price, cheaper than you expected
over-priced = too expensive
extortionate = much too expensive


Money Idioms
I checked the prices of flats in central London today.  Two beds start at £500,000!
£500,000! That’s a bit of a rip off, isn’t it?

Have you seen Peter’s new house?
Yes, it’s lovely, isn’t it?  I bet it cost him an arm and a leg!

What have you been doing this morning?
Just shopping.  I picked up a few bargains for my new flat in the sales.

Buying a house in the UK is getting more and more expensive.  It’s ridiculous.
I know.  You have to pay through the nose for anything with more than one bedroom.

Where did you get your new garden furniture from?
A little shop opposite the station.  It’s dirt cheap over there.

£150 for a new washing machine?  How did you manage to get it so cheap?
It’s an ex-display model so they knocked £50 off the list price.

ENGLISH GRAMMAR

Would/Wouldn’t in the Past

Use would / wouldn’t…
To talk about habits in the past:
Until she bought a house, my sister would spend all her salary on expensive holidays

To criticise or talk about annoying habits in the past:
It was stressful having a mortgage, especially when the interest rates would change almost every month