House prices vary widely in the United Kingdom (UK), but housing in certain cities and counties is substantially pricier than in others. Surrey, for example, concentrated four of the most expensive towns to buy a home, including Virginia Water, Cobham, and Esher. With an average house price of over one million British pounds as of June 2024, housing in these towns cost roughly four times the national average. How did house prices change since the COVID-19 pandemic? Since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, demand for housing has been especially high, causing house prices to soar. Among major UK cities, the house price increase was most prominent in Belfast, where it rose by 5.5 percent in 2024. According to the UK House Price Index, the average annual house price increase on a national level was even higher. How long does it take to sell a house? With the demand for housing going strong and inventory running low, aspiring homeowners need to act faster than ever when making an offer on a home. The average number of days on market has continued shortening since the start of 2021 and was a little over a month as of October 2021. Surprisingly, selling a property took the longest in the UK’s most competitive market - London.

The UK housing market continued to show significant regional variations in 2025, with London maintaining its position as the most expensive city for homebuyers. The average house price in the capital stood at 555,625 British pounds in February, nearly double the national average. However, the market dynamics are shifting, with London experiencing only a modest 1.7 percent annual increase, while other cities like Belfast and Liverpool saw more substantial growth of over nine percent respectively. Affordability challenges and market slowdown Despite the continued price growth in many cities, the UK housing market is facing headwinds. The affordability of mortgage repayments has become the biggest barrier to property purchases, with the majority of the respondents in a recent survey citing it as their main challenge. Moreover, a rising share of Brits have reported affordability as a challenge since 2021, reflecting the impact of rising house prices and higher mortgage rates. The market slowdown is evident in the declining housing transaction volumes, which have plummeted since 2021. European context The stark price differences are mirrored in the broader European context. While London boasts some of the highest property prices among European cities, a comparison of the average transaction price for new homes in different European countries shows a different picture. In 2023, the highest prices were found in Austria, Germany, and France.

London was the most expensive city for a pint of beer in the United Kingdom in 2021, where a pint of beer at a pub cost on average 4.50 British pounds in 2021. Edinburgh and Birmingham came in second and third place, where a pub beer cost on average 4.40 pounds.

United Kingdom UK: Land Area data was reported at 241,930.000 sq km in 2017. This stayed constant from the previous number of 241,930.000 sq km for 2016. United Kingdom UK: Land Area data is updated yearly, averaging 241,930.000 sq km from Dec 1961 (Median) to 2017, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 241,930.000 sq km in 2017 and a record low of 241,930.000 sq km in 2017. United Kingdom UK: Land Area data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.; ; Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site.; Sum;

United Kingdom UK: Surface Area data was reported at 243,610.000 sq km in 2017. This stayed constant from the previous number of 243,610.000 sq km for 2016. United Kingdom UK: Surface Area data is updated yearly, averaging 243,610.000 sq km from Dec 1961 (Median) to 2017, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 243,610.000 sq km in 2017 and a record low of 243,610.000 sq km in 2017. United Kingdom UK: Surface Area data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. Surface area is a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways.; ; Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site.; Sum;

In 2023, London had a gross domestic product of over 569 billion British pounds, by far the most of any region of the United Kingdom. The region of South East England which surrounds London had the second-highest GDP in this year, at over 360 billion pounds. North West England, which includes the major cities of Manchester and Liverpool, had the third-largest GDP among UK regions, at almost 250 billion pounds. Levelling Up the UK London’s economic dominance of the UK can clearly be seen when compared to the other regions of the country. In terms of GDP per capita, the gap between London and the rest of the country is striking, standing at over 63,600 pounds per person in the UK capital, compared with just over 37,100 pounds in the rest of the country. To address the economic imbalance, successive UK governments have tried to implement "levelling-up policies", which aim to boost investment and productivity in neglected areas of the country. The success of these programs going forward may depend on their scale, as it will likely take high levels of investment to reverse economic neglect regions have faced in the recent past. Overall UK GDP The gross domestic product for the whole of the United Kingdom amounted to 2.56 trillion British pounds in 2024. During this year, GDP grew by 0.9 percent, following a growth rate of 0.4 percent in 2023. Due to the overall population of the UK growing faster than the economy, however, GDP per capita in the UK fell in both 2023 and 2024. Nevertheless, the UK remains one of the world’s biggest economies, with just five countries (the United States, China, Japan, Germany, and India) having larger economies. It is it likely that several other countries will overtake the UK economy in the coming years, with Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, and Mexico all expected to have larger economies than Britain by 2050.

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Renting an office space in the UK was the most expensive in London West End in 2025. In the first quarter of the year, the square foot cost of a prime office space cost 170 British pounds. Conversely, Belfast was the most affordable of the 18 markets ranked, at 26 British pounds per square foot.

The city of Paris in France had an estimated gross domestic product of 757.6 billion Euros in 2021, the most of any European city. Paris was followed by the spanish capital, Madrid, which had a GDP of 237.5 billion Euros, and the Irish capital, Dublin at 230 billion Euros. Milan, in the prosperous north of Italy, had a GDP of 228.4 billion Euros, 65 billion euros larger than the Italian capital Rome, and was the largest non-capital city in terms of GDP in Europe. The engine of Europe Among European countries, Germany had by far the largest economy, with a gross domestic product of over 4.18 trillion Euros. The United Kingdom or France have been Europe's second largest economy since the 1980s, depending on the year, with forecasts suggesting France will overtake the UK going into the 2020s. Germany however, has been the biggest European economy for some time, with five cities (Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Frankfurt) among the 15 largest European cities by GDP. Europe's largest cities In 2023, Moscow was the largest european city, with a population of nearly 12.7 million. Paris was the largest city in western Europe, with a population of over 11 million, while London was Europe's third-largest city at 9.6 million inhabitants.

London remained the most expensive city for hotel accommodations in the United Kingdom, with an average nightly rate of *** British pounds in 2024. This figure stood in stark contrast to Milton Keynes, where travelers found rooms for less than half that price at ** British pounds per night. How expensive is accommodation in the United Kingdom? While London was highest on the list for hotel room prices, it did not command the highest average nightly Airbnb rates in the United Kingdom. Edinburgh topped the list with an average price of *** British pounds per night, significantly higher than London's *** British pounds. Interestingly, even smaller UK cities like St Andrews showed competitive nightly hotel rates among selected small cities in the United Kingdom, reaching *** British pounds per night in April 2024. Occupancy rates and accommodation preferences Despite high prices in some areas, the UK’s hotel industry in the country has thrived in recent years. In May 2024, the monthly hotel occupancy rate in the United Kingdom reached ** percent, surpassing levels seen in the previous four years. Edinburgh, the second most expensive city for hotels, saw ** percent of its visitors choosing hotels, motels, or inns as their preferred accommodation type in Edinburgh in 2023. The Scottish capital's popularity was further evidenced by comparing the annual average room occupancy rate of hotels in Scotland, with its region's nearly ** percent in 2024, outperforming even Greater Glasgow's robust ** percent

Renters in the UK spent on average 32.5 percent of their income on rent as of January 2025. Scotland and Yorkshire and Humber were the most affordable regions, with households spending less than 28 percent of their gross income on rent. Conversely, London, South West, and South East had a higher ratio. Greater London is the most expensive region for renters Greater London has a considerably higher rent than the rest of the UK regions. In 2024, the average rental cost in Greater London was more than twice higher than in the North West or West Midlands. Compared with Greater London, rent in the South East region was about 600 British pounds cheaper. London property prices continue to increase In recent years, house prices in the UK have been steadily increasing, and the period after the COVID-19 pandemic has been no exception. Prime residential property prices in Central London are forecast to continue rising until 2027. A similar trend in prime property prices is also expected in Outer London.

In the South of England, prime rents for office space fluctuate depending on its location. This was especially present for areas surrounding London. In 2019, the cost of grade A office property was the most expensive in Windsor with **** British pounds per square foot. The cheapest average office rents in the South of England could be found in Peterborough.

Compared to London, even the most expensive office rents for prime real estate were far less than the top of London. In 2019, the most expensive office rents were found in the West End of London.

In 2023, the gross domestic product per capita in London was 63,618 British pounds, compared with 37,135 pounds per capita for the United Kingdom as a whole. Apart from London, the only other region of the UK that had a greater GDP per capita than the UK average was South East England, at 38,004 pounds per capita. By contrast, North East England had the lowest GDP per capita among UK regions, at 26,347 pounds. Regional imbalance in the UK economy? London's overall GDP in 2022 was over 508 billion British pounds, which accounted for almost a quarter of the overall GDP of the United Kingdom. South East England had the second-largest regional economy in the country, with a GDP of almost 341.7 billion British pounds. Furthermore, these two regions were the only ones that had higher levels of productivity (as measured by output per hour worked) than the UK average. While recent governments have recognized regional inequality as a major challenge facing the country, it may take several years for any initiatives to bear fruit. The creation of regional metro mayors across England is one of the earliest attempts at giving regions and cities in particular more power over spending in their regions than they currently have. UK economy growth slow in late 2024 After ending 2023 with two quarters of negative growth, the UK economy grew at the reasonable rate of 0.8 percent and 0.4 percent in the first and second quarters of the year. This was, however, followed by zero growth in the third quarter, and by just 0.1 percent in the last quarter of the year. Other economic indicators, such as the inflation rate, fell within the expected range in 2024, but have started to rise again, with a rate of three percent recorded in January 2025. While unemployment has witnessed a slight uptick since 2022, it is still at quite low levels compared with previous years.

Renting an apartment in Cambridge cost on average more than ***** British pounds per month in December 2023, making it the most expensive cities for renters in the UK after London. In London, the average rent ranged between ***** British pounds and ***** British pounds depending on the location. On the other hand, Northern Ireland, Wales, and North East were the regions with the most affordable rents.

The capital city of England, London has a population of approximately nine million residents and by 2041, the population of London is estimated to exceed 10 million individuals. To house them, the sprawling city has a stock of approximately 3.8 million dwellings. Annually, there are between 15,000 and 25,000 housing construction completions. Average house prices The average house price for a first-time buyer in London was over 492,000 British pounds in 2023, more than any other city in the UK. Overall, it was more affordable to buy a newly built property than an existing one, a price gap of over 100,000 British pounds. Average rental costs Unsurprisingly, London also topped the ranking as the most expensive region for renters. The average cost of rent exceeding 2,000 British pounds in 2024. Certain Boroughs in London will set back the average renter more than others. Westminster, Lambeth, and Hammersmith, Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea were the most expensive boroughs based on the average monthly rent.

In the first quarter of 2025, London West End - Bond Street was the most expensive location for prime high street rents in the UK, with prices reaching 2,500 British pounds per square foot. The West End was ranked ahead of London City, which came in third. In Manchester, the annual costs of rental per square foot of prime retail real estate amounted to 235 British pounds. Retail warehouses Retail warehouses typically range from 50,000 to hundreds of thousands of square feet. They are used for keeping and distributing inventory. Retail warehouses include loading docks, truck doors and large parking lots; also, they may contain a limited amount of office space. Prime retail warehouse properties belong to the wider category of industrial property, along with other real estate types, such as distribution buildings, showroom facilities, manufacturing buildings, cold storage facilities, telecom or data hosting centers, "flex" buildings denoting more than one industrial or commercial facility housed in the same building, and finally R&D buildings. Prime yields of high street retail across Europe Retail real estate prime yields in Europe were the lowest in Zurich, Switzerland, and the highest in Bucharest, Romania in 2025. As could be expected, larger cities in Europe tended to produce lower yields, due to the lower risk associated with these markets. Locations with lower yields tend to have steady occupancy rates and rental growth.

East Dunbartonshire, the city of Edinburgh, East Loathian and East Renfrewshire were the most xpensive regions for residential property in Scotland as of February 2025. The average house price in those regions were over 300,000 British pounds. In comparison, the average house price in Scotland was almost two times lower. Which are the most expensive streets to live in Scotland? With the average house price valued at approximately 3 million British pounds, Queen's Crescent, Auchterarder PH3 was the most expensive street for residential real estate in Scotland in 2024. This was almost twice higher than in the second-priciest street, Ann street, Edinburgh EH4. Compared to other regions in the UK, Scotland is affordable Though 3.6 million British pounds is an impressive figure, not all housing in Scotland falls in this price bracket. In fact, with an average house price of about 170,000 British pounds, Scotland is the third most affordable region for first-time home buyers. Furthermore, it has the second lowest rent to income ratio in the UK.

Average house prices are affected by several factors: Economic growth, unemployment, interest rates and mortgage availability can all affect average prices. A shortage of supply means that the need for housing and, therefore, competitive market created will push up house prices, whereas an excess of housing means prices fall to stimulate buyers. Location, location, location In December 2023, the average house price in England was more expensive than in any other country. This huge disparity in average house prices is in no small part down to the country's capital city, where the average asking price was more than double that of the UK’s average. Even in London, for those who can afford a mortgage, the savings made through buying over renting can be beneficial. House prices still set to grow In 2024, the number of housing transactions in the UK is set to fall to *** million. With the expected decline in transactions, the average house price is also set to stagnate across the UK.

London was the most expensive city to buy an apartment in, with an average value of ****** euros per square meter in the first quarter of 2024. The price of an apartment in Leeds was significantly lower at approximately ***** euros per square meter.