Hartlepool has been named the “most affordable” seaside town in the UK whre you can buy a house on a salary of £19,400. According to data by property website Zoopla, the most affordable place to buy a house in the UK, not in a seaside town, is East Ayrshire, Scotland.
Burnley is the second cheapest where house hunters would need to earn £21,100 to be able to afford a house. On the other end of the spectrum, Kensington and Chelsea in London is the most expensive place to buy a house, according to the stats.
Those wanting to buy a house in the affluent borough, where houses cost an average of £800,000, would need to earn a yearly salary of £193,900.
Hartlpool came out on top as the cheapest place to buy a home in a seaside town. The northeast town is surrounded on three sides by the sea with a whopping 19 beaches to choose from.
The town, established in the 17th century, is steeped in history. Over the centuries, its renowned harbour served as the official port of County Durham.
During the Victorian era, it transformed into a bustling coal port, exporting minerals from the rich Durham coalfield. The town, with a population of 88,001 as of data from 2021, has many attractions including Hartlepool Marina, the Royal Navy museum and HMS Trincomalee – the oldest warship afloat in Europe.
Hartlepool is a good place for families with around 40 primary schools to choose from – most of them rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted. It is also located less than an hour from Newcastle Upon Tyne and just 30 minutes away from Durham.
Both of which have Russell Group universities to choose from.
The average sold price for a property in Hartlepool in the last 12 months is £120,770, Zoopla says. A detached house’s average is £ 258,361, while a semi-detached property is more than £100,000 lower – at £148,910.
The average price of a terraced house is £71,048 while flats are only just above at £75,762.
Property agents Rightmove had slight variables on Zoopla’s figures, and said: “The majority of sales in Hartlepool during the last year were terraced properties, selling for an average price of £91,199. Semi-detached properties sold for an average of £157,937, with detached properties fetching £282,686.
“Overall, sold prices in Hartlepool over the last year were 4% down on the previous year and 3% down on the 2021 peak of £159,167.”
