‘Lovely’ city crowned UK’s cheapest place for single people to buy a home

You’re expected to pay a full hotel room rate at weddings, while your coupled-up friends get in for cheaper, you’ve got no one to split your weekly shopping with, and you’re solely responsible for your living costs.

And yet, the council tax discount for people living alone is still only 25%. So, as the singles tax makes all too clear, it’s extortionate to be riding solo.

But now, if you’re in the market to buy and want to stretch your pennies a little further, the most affordable UK city for single people has been named as Aberdeen.

For the second year running, Scotland’s Granite City — termed ‘lovely’ and uber-friendly by residents — comes up trumps for singletons, with the median value of one and two-bedroom homes at £114,700, according to new figures from Zoopla.

As a single earner, the average income needed to sustain mortgage payments for a house of this value is £33,100, which places the house’s value-to-earnings ratio at a fairly reasonable 3.5.

So in terms of how much this stacks up to each month, you’d need to budget just £438, once your 20% deposit of £22,900 has been factored in.

Aberdeen isn’t the only option for solo buyers on a budget though; Sunderland ranks as the second most affordable city for one and two-bedroom properties, averaging out at £106,700. Here, the average income of a single earner is £28,600 — and with a 20% deposit of £21,300, that translates to a ratio of 3.7.

Hull is in third with first-time-friendly properties at £115,300, compared to a local take-home pay of £27,900.

And there’s plenty of worth in flocking to Hull too, as earlier this year, the Yorkshire city was named one of the world’s top travel destinations, sitting alongside the likes of Vancouver, Beijing, Uluru, and Manila.

If you’re based in London, unfortunately things are a lot bleaker. The Big Smoke is still notorious for being incredibly expensive, and (unsurprisingly) doesn’t place on the property site’s top 10 list for getting on the ladder without a partner.

Even in the most affordable borough, Havering, single Londoners will need to set aside £1,166 every month for mortgage repayments. They’d also need to budget for a deposit of £61,000, with an average property value of £305,200. Ouch.

Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, comments: ‘Buying a home can feel out of reach for many singles who have to rely on just one income to cover mortgage and other costs of home ownership.

‘Rising incomes and lower mortgage rates mean that owning a home by yourself is increasingly possible.

‘For many, that means buying a smaller sized home where property prices have risen more slowly than for larger, family sized homes in recent years.’

But all’s not lost if you’re not coupled up. Richard recommends doing your research on mortgage affordability, as well as products aimed at single people, as although they’re rarer, there are options available.

It’s also worth weighing up alternative locations to see if you can get more bang for your buck in an adjacent postcode.

Kesha Foss-Smith, regional director at John D Wood & Co, adds that, along these lines, singletons are becoming much more strategic about where and what they buy.

She says: ‘The combination of stabilising house prices and improved mortgage rates has opened doors again, and we’re seeing renewed confidence in the market, particularly for one and two-bed homes.

‘With more choice coming onto the market and sellers being more open to negotiation, this is one of the more favourable windows we’ve seen for single buyers in recent years.’

A version of this article was first published on February 12, 2025.

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