The best cities to buy affordable property

Cleveland is the best city to buy property globally

Out of the 330 cities analysed, Cleveland ranked as the best city for buying property with an overall score of 75.8 out of 100. In Cleveland, the average property size is 168m2 and the cost is $208,111, or £162,326, meaning the city's properties are at the lowest price per square metre at only $574. With a good livability score of 72, this makes Cleveland an excellent city to buy property as not only are the costs very manageable, but the quality of life is also great. 

Four out of the top ten best cities for buying a home are situated in Ohio, making it an excellent state for those looking to purchase. Alongside Cleveland, Akron, Toledo, and Columbus score at least 67.7 out of 100, with the state having an average livability of 74 and an average property price of $194,641.

Detroit is the second best city to buy property in the U.S at only $657 per square metre

Detroit, a city in Michigan is also revealed as a great city to join the property market in America, largely due to its well-priced homes and good quality of life. The average price of property is the second cheapest of all cities analysed at only $657 per square metre, making it a great city to purchase a property.

Santa Ana is the worst city to buy property in the U.S.

Our data showed that Santa Ana, CA was the worst city in the U.S. to buy property thanks to a very low livability score of 51 and the high cost of property in the area. With the average property only being sized at 173m2 but priced at an astounding $827,134, buyers in this area can look at spending $5,408 per square metre on property.

Californian cities make up 17 out of the 20 worst cities in the US to buy property largely due to the high costs in the state. The average property price across California is $824,181 and the property itself is extremely expensive at an astounding $5,570 per square metre.

Two cities in New York rank as some of the worst to buy a home

New York City and Yonkers, both in the state of New York are two cities that also rank in the top ten worst places if looking to get on the property ladder. 

Although in Yonkers the cost of property is significantly cheaper than its neighbouring cities at $4,850, the low livability score means the city is the fifth worst for prospective buyers scoring just 38.9 out of 100. 

New York City itself has a very high average price of property per metre squared at $7,818, which alongside the limited physical space available to build on in the city, also makes it one of the worst cities to buy a house, scoring 39.1.

Dundee is the cheapest city for homebuyers in the UK

Dundee, a city in Scotland, is revealed as the best city in the UK for those looking to get on the property ladder thanks to having a very affordable in comparison to London, at an average price of £1,437 per square metre, alongside an excellent quality of life score of 205.68, and an average property size at 97m2. Property prices are comparatively higher than other well-priced cities on average at £141,665.

Burnley is England’s best city for first-time buyers 

Burnley ranks as England's top city, and the second-best city in all of the UK for purchasing a house. The Lancashire city has the lowest average property price in all of the UK at £106,314 and has an overall ranking score of 90.1 out of 100 making it one of the cheapest cities to purchase a house in the UK, where you can expect a decent quality of life at 160.21.

London is the worst place to buy a home in the UK

To no one’s surprise, London is revealed as the UK city where property is going to set you back the most, with the average property costing £8,900 per square metre. The city has a below-average quality of life at 147.44 which means that despite the high costs of buying in the city, happiness is generally lower than in other cities. 

Westminster is the city with the worst property market, with a score of just 35.5 out of 100, followed by Islington and the city of London itself both scoring 37.4.

Surrey is the most expensive property market outside of London

Croydon and Sutton, both based in the country of Surrey, round out the top five worst property markets. Largely influenced by their proximity to London the average price of a house in Surrey is a high £5,800 per square metre. Croydon ranks as the fourth worst city with a score of 49.5 whilst Sutton follows in fifth with a score of 50.1 out of 100. However, if buying in home counties such as Surrey you can expect to get slightly more for your money compared to living in the capital itself.

Edmonton is the best city for property buying in Canada

Edmonton, a province in Alberta, ranks as the best property market in Canada with a score of 51.1. Houses in this city have an average size of 187m2 and a high livability score of 84 making the area’s properties very well priced at only $4,773 per metre squared.

Quebec is a great province to buy property in Canada

Five out of the top ten cities in Canada to buy in are all located in Quebec. Quebec City ranks fourth with a score of 48.2, followed by Gatineau, Longueuil, Laval, and Montreal, the province has an average property size of 138, and an average livability score of 89.4. The average property price in these cities is $525,153 meaning the average price per metre squared is $4,669. The city of Montreal, which ranks 8th in our Canadian study has the highest price per square metre at $6,772.

Okanagan is the worst city to buy property in Canada

Okanagan is a province in British Columbia famous for its wineries, but unfortunately for wine lovers ranks as the worst city to join the property market in the country. The region has a low livability score of 59, but with the average property price of $998,721, buyers are looking to spend a high amount for a lower quality of life when living in the area.

Four out of the five worst cities are located in the province of British Columbia. Burnaby, Victoria, and Surrey all score 38 out of 100 or less in the study. Alongside Vancouver, which scores 38.7, the cities have an average livability of 72. Vancouver residents can expect to build a slightly larger property of 154 square metres but for a much higher cost of $1,349,985. 

Ontario’s cities do not make a good location for property buying

Cities in Ontario have also proven to be poor for those looking to buy in Canada. Toronto ranks fourth worth in the study, thanks to its very high average price of property per square metre at $8,823, but residents can only expect a small property size of 113m2. Five out of the top ten worst cities in Canada to join the property ladder are in Ontario, including Markham, Brampton, Vaughn and London. The cities of Ontario analysed in the study have a high average livability of 87, but it is the high price of a house in the area that makes this a poor city to buy property. With the average property in the region costing up to $1,110,600, the average price per m2 is $6,644.

Property is cheapest in Zaragoza costing only €1,704 per square metre

Zaragoza, in Spain’s Aragon region, has now been crowned Europe’s best place to join the property market, with an excellent score of 90.9 out of 100. The average price of property is the cheapest out of all European cities analysed, at just €1,704 per square metre. The average property price is also the cheapest of all cities in the study, at just €201,578, with buyers looking at an average home size of 100m2. Residents can also expect to have an excellent quality of life, with the area scoring 191.05. 

Irish cities are excellent locations for buying property 

Five out of the top ten property markets in Europe are located in Ireland. Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Cork and Dublin rank from sixth to tenth respectively. 

The cost of a house is highest in Dublin, which scores 64.6 out of 100, at a huge €4,375 per square metre. This is much higher than Cork where a square metre will cost you €2,982. However, the average property price in Cork is much higher for the same average size of 112m2, at €357,000 compared to Dublin’s $320,000. This makes Cork an excellent location for people looking to buy a home.

Paris is the worst European city to buy property at over €10.8K per sqm2

Paris is revealed to be the European city with the most expensive property, at an astounding €10,886 per m2. This is over €1,700 more per metre square than the second most expensive city to buy a home, Frankfurt, Germany. 

The average property size in Paris is a small 71m2, whilst the average property sells for €696,296, giving the city the fourth smallest property size for the tenth highest average price. 

Italian cities Milan and Naples are some of the worst European cities for buying property

The Italian cities of Milan and Naples rank as the second and third worst cities for purchasing property in Europe. Despite the average property being slightly larger than those of Paris, the quality of life in these cities is worse at only 130.34 and 125.3 respectively. 

The average property price is higher in Naples at €740,000, compared to Milan’s €549,950. However, when looking at houses themselves, it is more expensive to purchase in Milan at €6,470 per m2, compared to €5,511 per square metre in Naples. 

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