Lots of us have been rethinking our homes and lifestyles since the pandemic.
With home working at an all-time high, it’s no wonder we’re all looking around and wondering if we could get more space for our money.
And if you’re searching for a roomier home, you might well be wondering what you can afford and where.
It can be helpful to look at the price per square foot. This helps you compare the cost of homes without making adjustments for different sizes of properties.
So we’ve crunched the data to find where you might want to focus your property search if space is top of your wishlist.
Where to find the most space for your money
At a regional level, the North East tops the ranking of floor space for money.
The average price per square foot in the region comes in at £141, well under the national average of £270 per square foot.
Scotland, Wales, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the North West all offer good value for money too, coming in under the £200 per square foot mark.
At the other end of the scale, it's the southern regions of England where you'll get the least space for your money.
London's price per square foot is an eye-watering £582, while the East of England and the South East both top £300 per square foot.
| Area | Price per square foot |
|---|---|
| North East | £141 |
| Scotland | £178 |
| Wales | £184 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £187 |
| North West | £197 |
| East Midlands | £216 |
| West Midlands | £224 |
| South West | £291 |
| Eastern England | £336 |
| South East | £370 |
| London | £582 |
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Compare the size and price of homes across the UK
There’s a huge difference in house prices across the UK, even between different local authority areas.
So go a step further and compare the price of floorspace in local markets.
Use our handy tool to see where you could buy a house for your budget.
The top 20 most affordable areas per square foot
When we zoom into local authorities areas, Hartlepool is the cheapest place to buy a house per square foot.
Several areas in the southeast of Scotland feature in our most affordable areas by square foot, along with places like Hartlepool, County Durham and Middlesborough in the North West.
A few spots in Wales are also still affordable when you look at the cost per square foot, including Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tudfil and Neath Port Talbot.
| Local authority area | Cost per square foot |
|---|---|
| Hartlepool | £108 |
| Na h-Eileanan an Iar | £109 |
| East Ayrshire | £115 |
| Blaenau Gwent | £119 |
| County Durham | £121 |
| North Ayrshire | £121 |
| Burnley | £122 |
| Middlesborough | £124 |
| Hyndburn | £124 |
| Copeland | £126 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | £127 |
| Sunderland | £129 |
| Inverclyde | £129 |
| Merthyr Tudfil | £130 |
| Kingston upon Hull | £130 |
| Blackpool | £130 |
| North East Lincolnshire | £131 |
| Pendle | £133 |
| Castell-nedd Port Talbot | £135 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | £136 |
How much space you can get for £5,000 across the UK
So, how does it all add up when you're looking at a home?
It can help to compare the amount of space you'll get for a certain amount of money.
You can see the big difference between the North East, where you'll get 36 square feet for £5,000, and London, where you get just 9 square feet for that price.