The average cost of a home in the UK is now a frightening £179,935, according to the latest statistics from the Land Registry. We take a look at what £179,000 gets you in various parts the UK
Surrey
Price watch: Expensive
What's it like?
Aside from Greater London, Surrey is the most expensive place in the UK to buy property, with boroughs such as Epsom, Ewell and Guildford helping push the average price in the county to £292,893.
Surrey is seen as an attractive place to live as it boasts plenty of amenities, supermarkets and leisure facilities as well as open spaces and countryside. Furthermore, its location means it is an ideal area from which to commute to London.
What you get for £179,000
In Guilford, you would be in the market for a one-bedroom flat or possibly a two-bedroom property that required plenty of work.
Berkshire
Price watch: Expensive
What's it like?
Just 30 miles away from London, Berkshire is also a desirable location for commuters with the combination of young professionals and high-income families pushing the average price up to £278,346.
What you get for £179,000
Taking the town of Wokingham as an example, it is slim pickings to say the least. Generally, you are looking at one-bedroom flats near the town centre and transport links or two-bedroom flats in the less desirable parts of town.
London
Price watch: Expensive
What's it like?
Greater London is, by some margin, the most expensive area to buy your bricks and mortar. The average price is a heart-stopping £333,785 and this figure has gone up by 15.6 per cent in the last 12 months.
The reason for the steep rise is a simple matter of supply and demand with an ever-growing London population competing for a relatively static number of properties.
What you get for £179,000
This will get you a studio or one-bedroom flat in a part of town that is unlikely to be top of your list of locations.
Hull
Price watch: Cheap
What's it like?
The second cheapest place to buy property in the UK is Hull, in Yorkshire. Bombed heavily during the Second World War because of its docks, it is estimated that 95 per cent of its houses were damaged or destroyed.
The central shopping area is being regenerated with some large-scale property and retail developments going up, which should help revitalise this industrial and architecturally neglected part of the UK.
What you get for £179,000
The average price of a property in Hull is £86,764. For £179,000 you could get a three-bedroom semi-detached house in a high-quality new-build development or a four-bedroom terraced house. Expect a well-proportioned house with lots of space, a garage and garden.
Merthyr Tydfil
Price watch: Cheap
What's it like?
Merthyr Tydfil, in south Wales, is the least expensive place to buy property in the whole of the UK, with an average property price of £84,993. Birthplace of fashion designers Laura Ashley and Julian MacDonald, Merthyr Tydfil's economy used to rely on the now largely redundant industries of coal mining and iron-making.
With most of the pits and ironworks having been forced to close during the Eighties, the area still has a high level of unemployment and one in five of its inhabitants are on incapacity benefit.
On the positive side, Welsh Assembly and EU money is being invested in the area with the local shopping precinct currently being upgraded.
What you get for £179,000
The UK's average house price will go a long way here, buying you a three-bedroom detached house, often with a garden to the front and to the rear.