The prospect of buying a home during these times is a daunting prospect- as the cost of living crisis deepens in the UK, inflation rockets and so do house prices. House prices, in particular, have soared over the last couple of decades with property prices in Britain equating to around four times as much as 20 years prior on average.
Bristol, in particular, has seen the fifth largest house price increase UK-wide over the last 20 years according to new research by Plumbnation. The survey measures average property price data from cities across the UK from 2022 all the way back to 2002 and ranks the prices per city based on the difference as a percentage.
And Bristol made it into the top five cities that have seen the biggest price increases during this period. The average cost of all property types in Bristol in 2022 equated to £333,058 whereas this figure was estimated at £97,875 in 2002, seeing a 240.29 per cent increase over 20 years.
Also see: The best areas for families to buy houses in Bristol
While this means those who bought property in Bristol near the start of the millennium will have seen their home's market value rise, it makes it incredibly difficult for first-time buyers to get on the property ladder.
Speaking to the Mirror, Tim Leonard, a personal finance expert at NerdWallet, said: “What for many was already a challenging task to get a mortgage as a first-time buyer is likely to be getting harder still. With the startling rate at which house prices are increasing, many will need to be saving an even larger house deposit, at the same time as the rising cost of living is increasing their outgoings elsewhere.
“It’s a difficult situation, but there may be some steps that can be taken to help people fulfil their homeownership dreams, even in the current financial climate.”
Mr Leonard suggested people looking to buy for the first time should compare mortgages before applying to get the cheapest and best deal. He also advised people to look at saving schemes (ISAs) for first-time buyers and setting up budget or savings goals.
So who came ahead of Bristol? Ranking at the top of the survey is the city of Manchester which reported a total price difference of 331.26 per cent from 2002 to 2022. With a total price increase of £161, 802, based on ONS figures, that is more than four times the amount of the average UK salary as of 2021.
Salford, Leicester and Kingston-upon-Hull appeared ahead of Bristol as cities who have seen huge property price increases over the last two decades. London ranked at 24 out of 50 on the list having seen a jump from £169,841 to £510,102 (200 per cent) during this period.
At the other end of the rankings, Reading, Blackpool and Worcester saw the smallest property price increase. Reading had the sixth-highest cost for properties in 2002, meaning you had to put in much more money than other locations to see lesser profits. The cost of entry for buying property in 2002 is nearly seven times higher than ONS data for the average salary (£20,376) of that year.
Bristol ranked third on the UK list when looking purely at semi-detached properties. having seen a 266.34 per cent jump from 2002 to 2022. A semi-detached property in our city averaged at £113,111 20 years ago but has since increased to £414,374 this year. Interestingly, Manchester and Salford held the top two spots for each category.
The survey also ranked Bristol at number four for the largest price increase in terraced properties and third for flats and maisonettes, at 269.09 per cent and 189.63 per cent respectively.
