Why are houses so much cheaper up north?

[CliveThighs]

OK, I'm aware this is probably a silly question so please don't flame me too much.

But I live in the south east where a 3 bed terrace costs around £350k. Which is crazy high. But somehow my brain has accepted that this is what a house costs.

But I fell down a zoopla/rightmove rabbit hole earlier and realised that up North a 3 bed terrace is about 1/3 of the price.

So what makes the south so much more expensive. I know the theory is London jobs and higher wages in the SE but are wages really that much lower in the North? Surely teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers get paid roughly the same where ever they are in the country? Minimum wage is the same all over the country, and the vast majority of those living in the SE don't earn these magically high London salaries?

But this isn't what the OP was saying. They were saying there's loads of 3 bed terraces in "the north" under £350k. The reality is yes, there are BUT not anywhere you'd want to live!

That's bollocks. You can get one in York, for a start.

^^

All of those houses are lovely! And still for sale?! They would all be sold on day one and over the asking price where I live!

@BalladOfBarryAndFreda

not anywhere you’d want to live

That’s massively pushing it.

3 bed semi in good order in Heaton Chapel for £325k

E Didsbury do-er upper semi for £335k

3 bed renovated semi in Harrogate for £350k

Period terrace in Harrogate for £350k

Period terrace in Aigburth

Etc…

I can't comment on the bottom 3, but Jo, I wouldn't live in that part of Heaton Chapel - it's high crime and quite dodgy, lots of lock ups and industrial units and far from cafes and any sort of hub. And the Didsbury one is in view (and hearing) of the M60, noisy and dreadful air quality as well as being considerable distance from cafes and shops.

@Paddingtonthebear

^^

All of those houses are lovely! And still for sale?! They would all be sold on day one and over the asking price where I live!

It's their location. The houses themselves are lovely, but not very good locations.

@Octomore

But this isn't what the OP was saying. They were saying there's loads of 3 bed terraces in "the north" under £350k. The reality is yes, there are BUT not anywhere you'd want to live!

That's bollocks. You can get one in York, for a start.

Where in York? There's nice bits of York and not so nice bits of York. York isn't one homogeneous middle-class haven.

A cursory Rightmove search threw up results in Fulford among others. I know York very well, and there aren't many genuinely dodgy bits at all - I would live in most areas of the city.

Are you seriously insisting that you can't buy a house anywhere nice in the north for £350k? You can buy one in my very 'naice' village in a national park for that!

@Octomore

A cursory Rightmove search threw up results in Fulford among others. I know York very well, and there aren't many genuinely dodgy bits at all - I would live in most areas of the city.

Are you seriously insisting that you can't buy a house anywhere nice in the north for £350k? You can buy one in my very 'naice' village in a national park for that!

No, I'm not. I'm saying there isn't the overabundance the OP states.

And I don't live in the back of beyond. We have an outstanding rated village primary school here, commutable to Leeds etc. All the usual 'nice' middle class markers.

The idea that the only houses up north that are worth less than £350k are located in dire hellholes that nobody would want to live in is just plain wrong.

I do agree that when southerners search on rightmove and start pointing to large numbers of £50k houses they are usually looking pretty deprived and run down areas though. Those are definitely not representative.

Love to know what 'naice' really means....
Well we all know don't we it's a kind of shorthand for something rather unpalatable.

I live in a deprived NW seaside town with little in the way of employment except hospitality. Recently, due to working from home, we have seen an influx of people from the South who want a house by the sea. We are also easy travelling distance from Manchester and the Lake District for a bit of city life and outdoor activities. Property is still very cheap in comparison but prices are starting to rise .

@sandgrown

I live in a deprived NW seaside town with little in the way of employment except hospitality. Recently, due to working from home, we have seen an influx of people from the South who want a house by the sea. We are also easy travelling distance from Manchester and the Lake District for a bit of city life and outdoor activities. Property is still very cheap in comparison but prices are starting to rise .

There's definitely been an influx of people from the south moving up north. The Peak District seems to be a popular choice.

@Shambolicatthleast

Love to know what 'naice' really means.... Well we all know don't we it's a kind of shorthand for something rather unpalatable.

It's the way people from Merseysde pronounce, "Nice".