The 10 cheapest areas to buy your first house in the UK have been revealed, and two are only an hour away from Manchester.
After it was revealed that more than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline, which means that they’ll now be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra as of yesterday (1 April), the cheapest places to get your foot on the property ladder in 2025 have now been named.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000.
So if you’re looking to buy your first home, this is a list to keep a close eye on.
The top 10 cheapest UK areas for first time buyers have been revealed / Credit: Pavel Danilyuk (via Pexels)
Property platform Rightmove has crunched the numbers and come up with a top 10 list for those on a budget and considering lower-priced areas they can move to, with the Scottish town of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire being named the cheapest area for a first time buyer to get onto the property ladder, as the average asking price for a typical first time buyer-type home here is just over £84,000.
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Scotland keeps on pulling through, as the twon of Greenock in Inverclyde is second on the list, with an average asking price of £88,862, followed by Grimsby in third at £93,427.
As far as the North West is concerned, no residential areas in Greater Manchester have made the cut this time around, but the region’s two representatives on the list are only around an hour away from Manchester.
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Top 10 cheapest UK areas for first time buyers
Kilmarnock – £84,325
Greenock – £88,862
Grimsby – £93,427
Blackpool – £93,711
Middlesbrough – £95,473
Hartlepool £99,525
Paisley – £99,570
East Killbride – £100,814
Ayr – £101,391
Burnley – £102,848
You’ll have to cross over the border into Lancashire if you’re looking for a budget-friendly first time home, as Blackpool takes the fourth spot on the list, with an average price of £93,711, and Burnley also makes an appearance at number 10 with an average price of £102,848.
The North overall is pretty well-represented, with other towns and cities such as Middlesbrough and Hartlepool featuring in the top 10, but according to the data, Scotland is by far the cheapest country to get on the property ladder in the UK.
Paisley, East Killbride, and Ayr also find themselves on the list lower down, as well as the two aforementioned Scottish towns in first and second place.
Experts at Rightmove explained that wage growth has unfortunately ‘outpaced’ the rise in average asking prices for first time buyer homes in the last five years, so while this has slightly increased the mortgage borrowing power of first time buyers, affordability is still said to remains ‘very stretched’ overall.
Featured Image – Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)
Property
Council calls on Manchester public to help bring hundreds of empty homes back into use
Emily Sergeant
Residents across Manchester are being called on to help bring hundreds of empty homes across the region back into use.
Since the beginning of this year, a major review has been underway around the city’s draft strategy for bringing empty homes back into use to help meet demand for affordable homes across the city, while also improving communities by tackling empty homes that can blight an area… but now, Manchester City Council needs your help.
Following a major public consultation, the Council is now acting on feedback to accelerate plans to bring as many long-term empty homes back into active use as possible.
Although the number of long-term empty homes in Manchester is near a historic low, with the Council having managed to reduce the number by more than half since 2013, there is still more work to be done.
“Every void property is a missed opportunity to provide a family a place to live, reduce homelessness, and lessen the burden on temporary accommodation,” the Council said in a statement.
The Council is calling on the Manchester public to help bring hundreds of empty homes back into use / Credit: Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)
So, how can residents help then? What do you need to do if you spot an empty home on a street nearby?
Well, the easiest way to report an empty home is to report the issue online here, or by emailing [email protected]. And then once that’s done, a team of dedicated empty homes officers will take up the case to find out who owns the property and work with the owner on a plan to bring the home back into use.
The vast number of empty homes are privately owned with complex histories, and there are some cases where an owner may have passed away.
While working collaboratively with housing providers, voluntary organisations and public services are also a key element of detecting potentially empty or ‘problematic’ homes to repurpose them.
Officers can also support, where required, if a communication or language poses a barrier to resolving an empty home issue.
Tailored approaches to different communities – where empty homes impact neighbourhoods in different ways – are also being considered, according to the Council.
“To think, if we could bring all empty homes back into use, then we could provide more homes for those on the housing register and take pressure off the whole housing system,” explained Cllr Gavin White, who is Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development.
“The potential of making empty homes a thing of the past is huge for Manchester families looking for a place to call home – and a significant part of tackling the housing crisis.”
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
Property
Much-loved Manc music shop Tasty Records goes up for sale as owners calls on next custodians to take over local favourite
Danny Jones
Much-loved Greater Manchester record and music store Tasty Records has officially closed, and the current custodian is putting the Trafford institution up for sale in hopes that someone will take over as worthy successors.
What an opportunity for any budding entrepreneurs.
The Alty record shop in its current brick-and-mortar form has stood for some time now, but popular owner Ben Molesworth has been selling physical media from 2012 onwards, and now his time at the helm of the hailed south Manchester spot has come to a somewhat bittersweet end.
A bit of a local legend with regulars who frequent and flick through his coveted vinyl collection, not just on Record Store Day but throughout the year, the area will be sad to see him go – and so will we – but it doesn’t mean this has to be the end.
“The shop deserves more than I can give it, and I have sold records in Altrincham for 14 years”, he explains, before going on to add that “It’s time for me to concentrate on different things.
“What happens now?” he continues, “Keep following! I’m not sure yet. I have closed the doors, but everything is still there… A busy website, Discogs, socials, a strong set of accounts and £ks of great vinyl stock.”
You’d think with a sales pitch like that, it would be a no-brainer for audiophiles who’ve ever dreamt of spending their days cataloguing their favourite tunes and artists, whilst providing a still criminally unsung public service: delivering printed music to the masses.
With more than a decade and a half of experience to his name, we’re sure Ben has plenty of wisdom to impart about how to take good care of his baby moving forward – he just needs some to set up to the plate/turntable.
As saturated as the Manc music market and record store scene is, it was also comfortably on this list pretty much since day one.
All that being said, part of the challenge for any independent business is getting the word out, hence why we thought we’d help do our bit by shouting about it.
He signed off by adding: “Thank you to all of my wonderful customers, friends and supporters. Tasty Recordsisn’t dead, only sleeping. Lots of love, Ben.”
For anyone who might fancy taking over this “awesome little record shop” (his words AND ours), you can express your interest/table an offer over email via [email protected].
What an honour it would be to carry on this place’s legacy – here’s hoping someone takes up the mantle soon.
Emily Sergeant -
2nd April 2025 
