What £250,000 buys, council by council: September 2026

At the median price per square metre over the two years to September 2026, £250,000 buys about 74 m² of home across England and Wales, from 152 m² in Blackpool and Blaenau Gwent to 18 m² in Kensington and Chelsea.

11 November 2026 · figures to September 2026

England and Wales, 24 months to Sep 202674 m²for £250,000 at the median £3,360 per m²

Region by region

Region	Median council	Least space	Most space	Covers a typical home
North East	123 m²	North Tyneside 97 m²	County Durham 143 m²	12 of 12
Yorkshire and The Humber	105 m²	York 66 m²	City of Kingston upon Hull 137 m²	12 of 15
Wales	102 m²	Monmouthshire 74 m²	Blaenau Gwent 152 m²	19 of 22
North West	97 m²	Trafford 60 m²	Blackpool 152 m²	28 of 35
East Midlands	87 m²	Rushcliffe 72 m²	Boston 113 m²	18 of 35
West Midlands	82 m²	Warwick 60 m²	Stoke-on-Trent 121 m²	13 of 30
South West	69 m²	Cotswold 56 m²	Plymouth 92 m²	1 of 26
East of England	61 m²	St Albans 38 m²	Fenland 95 m²	4 of 45
South East	57 m²	Elmbridge 39 m²	Isle of Wight 81 m²	0 of 64
London	38 m²	Kensington and Chelsea 18 m²	Barking and Dagenham 51 m²	0 of 32

Square metres £250,000 buys at each council's median price per square metre; the median council is the middle one of its region. Covers a typical home counts the councils where that is at least the typical floor area of the homes sold there. Median price per square metre of the sales we count over the 24 months to September 2026. HM Land Registry price paid data and MHCLG energy certificates.

Across England and Wales, at the median of £3,360 a square metre, £250,000 pays for about 74 m². In the North East the middle council gives 123 m², and County Durham 143 m². In London the middle council gives 38 m², and Barking and Dagenham, London's lowest price per square metre, 51 m².

Where £250,000 covers a typical home

Each council's page gives the typical floor area of the homes sold there: 85 m² in Blackpool, 87 m² in Kensington and Chelsea, and between 75 m² and 101 m² in all but eight councils. In 107 of the 316 councils, £250,000 at the local median buys at least that much.

That is true of all 12 councils in the North East, 28 of the 35 in the North West and 19 of the 22 in Wales. In the South West only Plymouth qualifies, in the East of England four councils do (Fenland, Great Yarmouth, Ipswich and Norwich), and in the South East and London none does.

Flats and houses in ten cities

City	Flat	Terraced	Semi-detached	Detached
Birmingham	97 m² £2,580	92 m² £2,710	80 m² £3,140	65 m² £3,860
Bristol	56 m² £4,500	59 m² £4,230	60 m² £4,140	52 m² £4,850
Cardiff	89 m² £2,820	80 m² £3,130	71 m² £3,500	64 m² £3,890
Leeds	95 m² £2,620	98 m² £2,550	79 m² £3,170	66 m² £3,790
Leicester	116 m² £2,160	93 m² £2,700	80 m² £3,130	74 m² £3,390
Liverpool	104 m² £2,400	128 m² £1,950	92 m² £2,730	77 m² £3,260
Manchester	72 m² £3,460	81 m² £3,080	71 m² £3,520	64 m² £3,910
Newcastle upon Tyne	109 m² £2,290	110 m² £2,270	102 m² £2,460	84 m² £2,990
Nottingham	109 m² £2,300	110 m² £2,280	95 m² £2,640	80 m² £3,140
Sheffield	101 m² £2,470	101 m² £2,470	91 m² £2,760	71 m² £3,500

Square metres £250,000 buys, then the median price per square metre for that type of home in the council area. Median price per square metre of the sales we count over the 24 months to September 2026. HM Land Registry price paid data and MHCLG energy certificates.

In all ten cities a detached house gives the least floor space for the money. In Liverpool, £250,000 buys about 128 m² of terraced house but 77 m² of detached house. In Bristol the type matters less: every type gives between 52 m² and 60 m².

In Birmingham, Cardiff and Leicester a flat gives the most space for the money; in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne and Nottingham a terraced house does, though Newcastle's and Nottingham's flats come within a square metre.

How the figures are worked out

Each floor area is £250,000 divided by the median price per square metre of the sales we count over the 24 months to September 2026, on the council's page or in its table by type of home, rounded to the nearest square metre. The typical floor area is the median floor area of the same sales. Councils with fewer than 300 counted sales, the Isles of Scilly and the City of London, are left out.

A median is the middle sale, so half the homes sold for more per square metre and half for less, and a garden, a garage or the state of a home are not in its floor area. The guide to price per square metre explains what the figure does and doesn't tell you, and the council league table ranks every council.

Sales to September 2026 · HM Land Registry price paid data · MHCLG energy certificates · An index-based comparison of sold prices, not a valuation.