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 gross domestic product per capita of London was ****** British pounds in 2023, far larger than that of other major cities in England, such as Manchester which had a GDP per capita of ****** pounds.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

The borough with the highest property prices in London, Kensington and Chelsea, had an average price for a flat that was about ******* British pounds higher than the London average. London is the most populous metropolitan area in the UK, and living in it comes with a price tag. Unsurprisingly, the most expensive boroughs in terms of real estate prices are located in the heart of the metropolis: Kensington and Chelsea, the City of Westminster, and the City of London. In Kensington and Chelsea, home to several museums such as the Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Science Museum, as well as galleries and theaters, the average price of apartments was over a million British pounds. How have residential property prices developed in recent years? The average house price in England declined slightly in 2023 after increasing year-on-year since 2008. The housing market in Wales also experienced a mild correction, but prices in Scotland and Northern Ireland continued to grow. Since 2015, the base year of the UK House Price Index, house prices in London have risen by over ** percent. In London, the cost of a flat decreased by *** percent year-on-year as of June 2024. However, some of the most expensive boroughs recorded a decline of over ** percent. Are residential property prices in London expected to grow in the future? Despite property prices declining in 2023, the market is forecast to continue to grow in the next five years, according to a March 2023 forecast. Some of the reasons for this are the robust demand for housing, the chronic shortage of residential properties and the anticipated decline in mortgage interest rates.

By 1800, London had grown to be the largest city in Western Europe with just under one million inhabitants. Paris was now the second largest city, with over half a million people, and Naples was the third largest city with 450 thousand people. The only other cities with over two hundred thousand inhabitants at this time were Vienna, Amsterdam and Dublin. Another noticeable development is the inclusion of many more northern cities from a wider variety of countries. The dominance of cities from France and Mediterranean countries was no longer the case, and the dispersal of European populations in 1800 was much closer to how it is today, more than two centuries later.