{"id":1553,"date":"2022-12-08T17:38:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T17:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-1197097-5857112.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=1553"},"modified":"2025-11-21T09:36:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T09:36:06","slug":"revealed-the-hardest-places-in-the-uk-to-buy-a-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/strideup.co\/news\/insights\/revealed-the-hardest-places-in-the-uk-to-buy-a-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Revealed: the hardest places in the UK to buy a home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The UK doesn\u2019t have one big housing crisis, it has many localised housing crises. Driving these crises are several factors: a shortage of homes being built; the number of empty homes, and brownfield sites not being utilised. In this article we reveal the hardest places for first-time buyers to find a home and ways to tackle the UK housing crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n<section class=\"table_of_contents\">\n    <h5>Table of contents<\/h5>\n    <ul>\n        <li><a href=\"#section1\">What we heard at MTF 2025<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#section2\">The data confirms it: Our community is underserved<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#section3\">StrideUp&#8217;s model resonated deeply<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#section4\">More than a moment &#8211; a movement<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#section5\">The data confirms it: Our community is underserved<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#section6\">So, what\u2019s next?<\/a><\/li>\n    <\/ul>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Revealed: the worst places to find a new home in the UK<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Based on the factors explained below, recent research from Cia Landlords has revealed that Liverpool is the city with the biggest housing crisis in the UK. Leicester comes in second and Bristol is the third most difficult place to find a home. Sheffield, Reading and Cardiff also made the list, and it\u2019s no coincidence that house prices have also shot up recently in these cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How to calculate a housing crisis<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are many ways to interpret the data in order to help explain what\u2019s happening with the UK housing crisis. One calculation involves dividing the population of a given city or town by the average number of people living in a single property. This will reveal how many properties each city needs, which can be compared against the number of homes currently available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another way to examine the health of the housing market in a particular city or area is to look at the average time a house stays on the market, as demand can create an especially cutthroat housing market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What\u2019s driving the housing crisis?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. <strong>Not enough homes are being built<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The UK government built only 37,164 houses between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/new-homes-england-2021-22-housebuilding-statistics-revealed#:~:text=Housing%20programmes%20delivered%20by%20Homes,from%20the%20Covid%2D19%20pandemic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">April 2021 and March 2022<\/a> \u2013 despite setting its own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/government-announces-new-housing-measures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">target<\/a> to build 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s. Between 2011 and 2021, the population grew faster or at the same pace as the number of homes in nearly half of local authorities, according to the 2021 Census.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even where the rate of building has kept up with population growth, there is still not enough housing because too few homes were built in previous years. People are also moving into cities and towns that were less popular a decade ago, creating demand in new areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. <strong>Brownfield sites aren\u2019t being properly used<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another major factor driving the housing crisis is that brownfield sites are being overlooked by councils and developers for housing developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brownfield sites are areas of land that have been built on before. Common brownfield sites include former transport hubs, retail parks and industrial sites such as factories or dockland. Since brownfield sites are generally located in cities and towns where infrastructure such as public transport is already in place, brownfield developments have been heralded as a sustainable solution to the UK\u2019s housing problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Greenfield sites are areas of land which have not been built on before \u2013 such as farmland, woods and wetlands. Building on greenfield sites is often cheaper and more time effective for developers as industrial brownfield sites may require lengthy and expensive decontamination processes. Making it easier and more cost effective to build on brownfield sites could help address the housing crises gripping cities across the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shifting residential building projects towards brownfield developments would have real-life impacts relatively quickly. For example, Plymouth, Nottingham and Portsmouth could ease their housing crisis by at least 30% if they took advantage of their brownfield housing potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table stretched\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>City<\/strong><\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Housing crisis currently (2022)<\/strong><\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Number of properties that could be built of brownfield land<\/strong><\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Housing crisis if brownfield potential was maximised<\/strong><\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Housing crisis difference when brownfield potential maximised (%)<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Coventry<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">-49,062<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">36,000<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">-13,062<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">73%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Plymouth<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">-19,730<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">7,254<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">-12,476<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">37%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Nottingham<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">-31,726<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">10,116<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">-21,610<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">32%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Portsmouth<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">-13,611<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">4,170<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">-9,441<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">31%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Birmingham<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">-82,728<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">23,000<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">-59,728<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">28%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. <strong>Thousands of houses are lying empty<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Around 310,000 homes are empty in England, Scotland and Wales, with England responsible for the vast majority at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.actiononemptyhomes.org\/news\/in-empty-homes-week-2022-we-call-for-action-and-investment#:~:text=Why%20does%20England%20have%20nearly,238%2C000%20long%2Dterm%20empty%20homes%3F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">238,000<\/a>. These figures are for residences that have been vacant for over six months \u2013 reasons for vacancy include rental properties that haven\u2019t been let, inherited homes and repossession. If second homes and short-term vacant properties are included, the number is close to 1 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Due to London\u2019s size, it has the most empty homes with a whopping 87,731. As London house prices average at \u00a31.5 million, the cost of vacant homes in the capital is approximately \u00a3131.5 billion. The majority of empty homes outside the capital are in Northern England, with Blackpool, Burnley and Liverpool at the top of the list. But vacant homes are an issue throughout the UK. Cities such as Bournemouth, Bristol and Brighton &amp; Hove also have vacant homes worth millions of pounds that could help alleviate the housing crisis if they were to be sold and occupied. Over 86% of Glasgow\u2019s housing deficit could be met if the long-term vacant homes in the city were inhabited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How to use this data to aid your home purchase<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you live in Liverpool, Leicester or Bristol \u2013 or any of the other cities experiencing a major housing crisis \u2013 you\u2019ll already know how difficult it is to buy the home you want. One way to use this data to your advantage is to consider a home in an area without such a pronounced housing deficit. As remote or hybrid working becomes more common, many people are searching for a different kind of life, with less time spent commuting and more time spent in the home they love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If moving areas isn\u2019t an option \u2013 either due to your employment, family or other ties, or simply because you don\u2019t want to compromise on location \u2013 looking beyond traditional lenders might give you greater flexibility. StrideUp\u2019s shared-ownership model could boost your buying power and open up neighbourhoods that would be otherwise out of reach with other types of home finance.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"special_separator flex justify-center my-8 middletab:my-14\">\n    <svg width=\"62\" height=\"12\" viewBox=\"0 0 62 12\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n        <path d=\"M15.5 7.45938C15.5 3.30547 12.0854 -0.0560486 7.89524 0.000708303C3.98534 0.0537023 0.730931 3.14742 0.512121 7.03041C0.41249 8.7974 0.932401 10.4402 1.8748 11.7644C2.06429 12.0304 2.442 12.0793 2.69297 11.8695L7.19939 8.10879L7.20286 8.10691C7.41915 7.92692 7.69787 7.81874 8.0018 7.81874C8.30574 7.81874 8.59171 7.92974 8.80926 8.11381L8.81273 8.11569L13.3084 11.8673C13.5597 12.0771 13.9377 12.0275 14.1272 11.7613C14.9918 10.5456 15.5 9.06143 15.5 7.45907V7.45938Z\" fill=\"#627C84\"\/>\n        <path d=\"M38.5 7.45938C38.5 3.30547 35.0854 -0.0560486 30.8952 0.000708303C26.9853 0.0537023 23.7309 3.14742 23.5121 7.03041C23.4125 8.7974 23.9324 10.4402 24.8748 11.7644C25.0643 12.0304 25.442 12.0793 25.693 11.8695L30.1994 8.10879L30.2029 8.10691C30.4191 7.92692 30.6979 7.81874 31.0018 7.81874C31.3057 7.81874 31.5917 7.92974 31.8093 8.11381L31.8127 8.11569L36.3084 11.8673C36.5597 12.0771 36.9377 12.0275 37.1272 11.7613C37.9918 10.5456 38.5 9.06143 38.5 7.45907V7.45938Z\" fill=\"#627C84\"\/>\n        <path d=\"M61.5 7.45938C61.5 3.30547 58.0854 -0.0560486 53.8952 0.000708303C49.9853 0.0537023 46.7309 3.14742 46.5121 7.03041C46.4125 8.7974 46.9324 10.4402 47.8748 11.7644C48.0643 12.0304 48.442 12.0793 48.693 11.8695L53.1994 8.10879L53.2029 8.10691C53.4191 7.92692 53.6979 7.81874 54.0018 7.81874C54.3057 7.81874 54.5917 7.92974 54.8093 8.11381L54.8127 8.11569L59.3084 11.8673C59.5597 12.0771 59.9377 12.0275 60.1272 11.7613C60.9918 10.5456 61.5 9.06143 61.5 7.45907V7.45938Z\" fill=\"#627C84\"\/>\n    <\/svg>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Share your story<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Want to share your experiences of looking for a home in a housing crisis? Or do you have opinions on how to improve the housing market in the UK? We\u2019d love to hear from you! Share your thoughts on our social channels.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"special_separator flex justify-center my-8 middletab:my-14\">\n    <svg width=\"62\" height=\"12\" viewBox=\"0 0 62 12\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n        <path d=\"M15.5 7.45938C15.5 3.30547 12.0854 -0.0560486 7.89524 0.000708303C3.98534 0.0537023 0.730931 3.14742 0.512121 7.03041C0.41249 8.7974 0.932401 10.4402 1.8748 11.7644C2.06429 12.0304 2.442 12.0793 2.69297 11.8695L7.19939 8.10879L7.20286 8.10691C7.41915 7.92692 7.69787 7.81874 8.0018 7.81874C8.30574 7.81874 8.59171 7.92974 8.80926 8.11381L8.81273 8.11569L13.3084 11.8673C13.5597 12.0771 13.9377 12.0275 14.1272 11.7613C14.9918 10.5456 15.5 9.06143 15.5 7.45907V7.45938Z\" fill=\"#627C84\"\/>\n        <path d=\"M38.5 7.45938C38.5 3.30547 35.0854 -0.0560486 30.8952 0.000708303C26.9853 0.0537023 23.7309 3.14742 23.5121 7.03041C23.4125 8.7974 23.9324 10.4402 24.8748 11.7644C25.0643 12.0304 25.442 12.0793 25.693 11.8695L30.1994 8.10879L30.2029 8.10691C30.4191 7.92692 30.6979 7.81874 31.0018 7.81874C31.3057 7.81874 31.5917 7.92974 31.8093 8.11381L31.8127 8.11569L36.3084 11.8673C36.5597 12.0771 36.9377 12.0275 37.1272 11.7613C37.9918 10.5456 38.5 9.06143 38.5 7.45907V7.45938Z\" fill=\"#627C84\"\/>\n        <path d=\"M61.5 7.45938C61.5 3.30547 58.0854 -0.0560486 53.8952 0.000708303C49.9853 0.0537023 46.7309 3.14742 46.5121 7.03041C46.4125 8.7974 46.9324 10.4402 47.8748 11.7644C48.0643 12.0304 48.442 12.0793 48.693 11.8695L53.1994 8.10879L53.2029 8.10691C53.4191 7.92692 53.6979 7.81874 54.0018 7.81874C54.3057 7.81874 54.5917 7.92974 54.8093 8.11381L54.8127 8.11569L59.3084 11.8673C59.5597 12.0771 59.9377 12.0275 60.1272 11.7613C60.9918 10.5456 61.5 9.06143 61.5 7.45907V7.45938Z\" fill=\"#627C84\"\/>\n    <\/svg>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"blog_cta rounded-[24px] tabland:rounded-[32px] my-8 tabland:my-14 py-8 tabland:py-12 px-6 tabland:px-5 text-center\" style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4;\">\n    <h2 class=\"font-ttnormspro slightly-tight-letters-title text-3xl font-extrabold mb-4\" style=\"color: #20272D;\">Stay in the loop.<\/h2>\n    <div class=\"desc font-lexend text-sm text-[#6A6A6C] mb-8 leading-normal font-feature-on tight-letters-paragraph\">Join our newsletter for exclusive updates and insights you won\u2019t want to miss.<\/div>\n            <a href=\"#subscription_form\" class=\"btn w-fit mx-auto\">\n            <div class=\"text\">\n                Subscribe            <\/div>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>First-time buyers face spiraling house prices driven by scarcity in many parts of the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[99,101,100],"post_author":[50],"class_list":["post-1553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insights","tag-uk-housing-crisis-2022","tag-uk-housing-crisis-facts","tag-uk-housing-crisis-solutions","post_author-team-strideup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/strideup.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/strideup.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/strideup.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strideup.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strideup.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1553"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/strideup.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2833,"href":"https:\/\/strideup.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1553\/revisions\/2833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strideup.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/strideup.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strideup.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strideup.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1553"},{"taxonomy":"post_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strideup.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_author?post=1553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}