The most expensive and cheapest city to buy and rent in the UK
The most expensive and cheapest areas in the UK to buy or rent have been revealed.
Aberdeen, Scotland, is at the top of the list of cheapest cities for first-time home buyers, while the most expensive city is also the capital, London, which is perhaps not surprising, with average house prices tending to be higher than the rest of the country. The same is true for the places with the most expensive rents, with the capital also at the top of the list.
On the other hand, if tenants want to live in Carlisle, Cumbria, the city with the cheapest rent, they must also head north.
These figures are based on monthly loan and rental costs.
Rightmove's calculations assume a 20% down payment for first-time buyers in Scotland and Wales, and a 25% down payment for first-time buyers in England.
The amount of the down payment is based on the average level of UK finance, and the data shows that more first-time buyers are opting for longer repayment terms to improve their affordability. As a result, the repayment period used in Rightmove's calculations is 35 years. Rightmove also assumes that the typical first-time home buyer property has a two-bedroom or smaller unit.
The average asking price for a property in Aberdeen is £102,601 and the average monthly repayment is £406. It was followed by Bradford with an average offer price of £107,929 and Sunderland in third place with an average asking price of £111,263.
Typical cities with the cheapest markets for first-time buyers:
The city with the most expensive market for typical first-time buyers
For the rental market, the most expensive place to rent outside of London is Oxford, where two-bedroom or small homes average £1,561 per month.
On the other hand, the cheapest city for tenants looking for a two-bedroom or smaller property is Carlisle, where rents are £607 per month.
Cheapest cities to rent:
Cities with the most expensive rents:
Rightmove explained that this will help buyers who want to trade in early this year.
For the typical first-time buyer buying a small property (up to two bedrooms), the average mortgage repayment is £53 higher than a year ago, while the average rent increase for tenants is £81.
This means that for buyers who can afford to save a large down payment of at least 20%, monthly payments are cheaper than rent in every of the UK's largest cities.
Mark Harris of SPF Private Clients, a mortgage broker, said: "Despite high lending rates and difficulties in raising deposits, we remain an aspiring landlord nation. Renting may bring more flexibility, but it will also be less secure to live in, and most importantly, the final cost will be higher than buying your own home. ”
"However, the high cost of home ownership, especially in London and the South East, means that it is almost impossible to get on the housing ladder without financial assistance from family members. ”
At the same time, soaring rents across the UK have meant that the cost of renting a two-bedroom or small home has increased by 39% over the past five years. In contrast, the cost of buying a similar type of property has risen by 19%.
Rightmove claims that even with a low down payment of 15% for first-time buyers and a shorter loan term of 25 years, 39 of the UK's 50 municipalities are still paying off their mortgages cheaper than rent.
Rightmove's Tim Bannister said: "These latest figures highlight why so many people are still determined to buy a home, and soaring rental costs mean that buying a home is still more attractive than renting, even if mortgage rates remain high. ”
"Longer loan terms are becoming more common as a way to improve overall affordability and reduce monthly payments, although first-time homebuyers should be aware of how much interest they are paying compared to the actual loan. If the supply of high-quality, affordable rental homes in the UK does not improve, owning your own home may still be the ultimate goal for those who can scrape together a down payment and borrow the money they need from a lender. Longer loan terms are inevitable as borrowers try to make it cheaper to live each month, but of course they will end up making more payments over a longer period of time. ”
The British Labour Party plans to renationalise rail transport within the next five years
Britain's opposition Labour Party has said it plans to renationalise the UK's rail network within five years without paying compensation to private operators as it lays out a fix for the troubled rail system.
Domestic rail services in the UK were fully privatised in the 90s of the 20th century, but in recent years the state has gradually renationalised some railway operations, some of which have lost their franchises after poor operational performance.
Labour wants to create a state-owned British Railway group that will take on passenger rail contracts currently held by private companies when they expire, a process that is expected to be completed during his first term.
The party is about 20 percentage points ahead of the ruling Conservative Party in the polls for the upcoming general election.
"Labour will undertake the biggest overhaul of our railways in a generation," Louise Haigh, Labour's head of transport policy, said ahead of Thursday's speech laying out the plan.
The deteriorating quality of critical rail services has been widely criticized by the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic and the recent industrial turmoil.
A poll conducted this month by polling firm YouGov showed that nearly 70% of voters supported the reintegration of Britain's rail operations into national ownership.
In the 2010s, there were several listed transport groups operating rail contracts in the UK, but they were either privatized, such as Go Ahead Group, or delisted, such as National Express's now Mobico, leaving FirstGroup (FGP. L), open a new company tab with a unique offer of stocks.
Shares in FirstGroup, which also operates buses and has a rail service contract from London to Edinburgh in the west of England, as well as some public transport services in London, fell 2% in early trading. Analysts said FirstGroup's stock did not reflect the price of any future rail contracts, so the movement was smaller.
Other companies operating rail contracts in the UK include Trenitalia, which operates the C2C line east of London, and Arriva Group, which is part of private equity firm I Squared, who are not keen on renewing UK rail contracts.
"This is not surprising. Labour has been talking about this for a long time," Liberum analysts said. "The only thing that's slightly obvious is that they're closer to being in power. ”
Rail operators in the UK still have the opportunity to take on some lines, with Transport for London outsourcing some of its lines, such as the Overground (Light Rail) operated by Arriva.
The Prime Minister's plan
The current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak's government, has proposed a new option to establish a new British Rail Company (GBR), but in a different role.
The government's proposal would bring responsibility for rail infrastructure and services to the UK, while maintaining the franchise system to play the role of outsourcing passenger services to private companies. After the post-pandemic passenger commute decreased, the government emphasised the need for the private sector to be involved to improve the efficiency of railway operations. The latest statistics for the new option show that the number of canceled flights in the last three months of 2023 reached its highest level since records began in 2018, although strike action by employees was one of the reasons for some of the problems.
Labour said the abolition of lines and the increase in rail fares showed that the current UK rail system – with four rail operators run by the government – had failed.
The company said it plans to establish a Passenger Standards Bureau that will hold British Rail accountable for its performance and will provide passengers with a price guarantee for future fares.
Two cavalry horses in central London are unreined
On Wednesday, the horses of the Household Cavalry broke loose after being frightened by construction work
On Wednesday morning, two Royal Cavalry horses in central London were frightened and escaped.
Defence Secretary James Catlich said that after being tamed, two cavalry horses, Vida and Quaker, broke free and went on a rampage in central London, causing damage and serious injuries.
Two Royal Cavalry horses, both with saddles, bridles and martingales, were photographed by passers-by galloping along Aldwych. The white Vida was photographed covered in blood as they crashed into oncoming vehicles and caused traffic disruptions.
The Ministry of Defence said the horses of the Household Cavalry would be unleashed by a line of riders made up of the Life Guards, Blues and Royals around 8.30am on Wednesday. Around 10:30 a.m., some horses had to run more than four miles before they were captured, with only two horses, Vida and Quaker, seriously injured.
"They have all been found. Three of the horses are in good condition, unfortunately two of them are in relatively serious condition, and obviously we will be keeping a close eye on their condition. ”
The military said that five horses, which were training in Belgravia before the Major General's inspection on Thursday, were frightened while passing through some construction works and concrete fell from the roof. Four soldiers were hit and three were injured. The military did not consider the soldier's injuries to be serious.
As questions about public safety mounted on Thursday, Catlich stressed the situation was unique considering that 150 horses were only being trained every day in London.
When asked about the situation with Vida and the Quakers, Catlich said he "didn't want to reveal more" than just the seriousness of their condition.
Pound rises, focus on BoE policy path
The pound rose against the dollar and the euro as investors assessed the BoE's monetary policy path after the policy-setting committee's recent mixed signals.
Late last week, the pound fell, with central bank governor Andrew Bailey saying that inflation had fallen broadly, in line with the Bank of England's forecasts, suggesting that interest rates could fall faster than the market currently expects.
The pound rose sharply against the dollar on Tuesday after weak monthly business activity data in the United States hit the dollar.
Kamal Sharma, a foreign exchange strategist at Bank of America, said, "With the pound moving below UK interest rates and more balanced comments this week, our bias is to dispel the recent dovish sentiment and allow the pound to recoup some of its losses." ”
Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill said on Tuesday that there is still some way to go before a rate cut, although it is getting closer with time and the absence of bad news on inflation.
Some analysts believe that recent economic data from the UK suggests that the Bank of England's monetary easing cycle will be delayed rather than started earlier.
Bank of America's Sharma added: "However, given the greater likelihood of a rate cut in June, we doubt that the pound will regain its recent highs immediately before the BoE's May interest rate meeting." He marked the May 9 quarterly inflation report as the most important event.
The pound rose 0.4% to $1.2519 and rose 0.8% on Tuesday, its biggest one-day gain since mid-December. It fell about 1.5% from Thursday to Monday.
The pound's decline against the euro was caused by dovish comments from Bank of England officials, which were further exacerbated by strong economic data from the Eurozone. These include eurozone business activity expanding at its fastest pace in nearly a year in April, while Germany's private sector unexpectedly returned to growth.
The pound has recovered some of its losses over the past two sessions, hitting 86.44p on Monday, its highest level since early January, and EUR/GBP is currently trading at 85.64p.