Online House Hunter: In search of ‘average’ homes

A four-bedroom home for sale in Wrexham

I’M secretly jealous of all those who live in an average house. It must be so easy to glance at the statistics churned out by property market analysts and know precisely this relates to your house. Most of us, of course, don’t live in a house deemed average by statisticians but there’s no escaping it’s one way of judging what is happening to the property market overall.

House Price Watch takes a longer-term view of the property market in its analysis of data sayign it offers a “more accurate and less volatile” picture of the market. Their analysis of 2011 shows, not surprisingly, that prices over the year were virtually unchanged in the UK’s stagnant market.

Stuart Law, chief executive of Assetz, said: “This lack of growth can be attributed to poorer job prospects, with unemployment now at its highest level since 1996 according to the ONS, and the ongoing Eurozone crisis which is impacting confidence and making lenders more cautious. The year ended, however, with the usual market slowdown rather then necessarily reflecting any sudden decline in confidence and we await the Spring bounce.”

Encouragingly, he goes on to say: “However, key locations such as London and other major towns and cities where there is a sound infrastructure and good employment rates, will have seen prices edge upwards over the year as demand continued to outstrip supply. Regional and local price variations are likely to become more pronounced this year as budget cuts continue to take hold but we expect to see national growth of as much as three per cent, buoyed by strong performing areas.”

The data puts the average price of a home now at £195,166 so here’s a quick glance at what you can buy for that money in various parts of the UK.

London’s strong house prices mean you’ll struggle to find much for your £196,000. Perhaps this two-bedroom flat in Valley Road, Streatham? It is close to the Common and walking distance to the station.

In the Home Counties, you’ll find with some searching a bit more brick for your buck.  In High Wycombe there is a three-bedroom town centre flat on the market for £197,500. There is allocated parking, entry phone and it’s in close proximity to the rail station and town centre shops.

Move further out to the real countryside and Exeter in Devon will offer you a two-bedroom bungalow for £195,000. It has front and rear gardens, and a single garage.

A move further away from the heat of London’s property market and £195,000 will buy you a four-bedroom detached house (pictured) in Wrexham, the largest town in north Wales.

Or take advantage of the north/south divide and you’ll find no shortage of four-bedroom homes for sale for £196,000. This four-bedroom property in Hartlepool, County Durham is on the market for £179,950. There’s a single garage, extensive gardens and you’ll be able to claim resurgent Hartlepool FC as your local team.

If Scotland appeals, then this two-bedroom detached cottage is for sale at offers over £170,000 at Laurencekirk. It comes with a third of an acre of a garden and what the agent describes as a “lovely rural aspect”.

If this tour de force proves anything, it’s that a bit of searching will find you average-priced houses that are nothing but average.

* House Price Watch is an analysis of the data supplied by five UK house price indices: LSL Acadametrics, Nationwide, Halifax, CLG and Rightmove.

USEFUL LINKS:

• Independent property search engine
• Homes for sale in Streatham
• Homes for sale in High Wycombe
• Homes for sale in Exeter
• Homes for sale in Wrexham
• Homes for sale in Hartlepool
• Homes for sale in Aberdeen

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