Top 10 cheapest streets to buy a home!

Never mind breaking the bank to buy a one bedroom-flat in Kensington - these are the streets that are jam-packed with property bargains!

Last month, I wrote about the most expensive streets to buy a property, with one street in particular in London where homes cost an astonishing £7m.

And while it’s fun to gawp at such astronomically priced properties, they are well out of reach for 99% of us. Instead, we need to shop around for a bargain, to find a property that meets our needs without breaking our budgets.

Thankfully Mouseprice.com has now put together research on the other end of the market, those bargain-basement properties which look an absolute steal.

So let’s take a look at the streets where buying a home costs little more than a top of the line car – and what you get for your money.

The cheapest street to live is...

If you want a bargain, then according to mouseprice.com, the cheapest street to buy a home in England or Wales is Fernhill in the Welsh region of Mountain Ash, where the average property costs just £28,600. That’s only a little above the UK’s average wage, so represents a seriously cheap deal.

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The street (which is actually an estate) also topped this poll last year, though the value of homes there has actually increased over the past year from £24,640.

So what do you get for your money?The first thing to consider is the location itself - the estate is a bit of a trek from Cardiff, the capital city, at around 20 miles, while the M4 is also a fair distance away.

The area was once in the heart of the Welsh coalmining industry, and boasted the typical rows of small houses stacked up against the hillside, along with the black slag heaps, dirty railways and blackened rivers that went with the industry.

While the coal and iron are long gone, and the valley route is now green with clean rivers and beautiful views, successive governments have failed to return prosperity to the area. Jobs are at a premium and there is a high percentage of residents out of work and on benefits, as well as a growing, aged population.

So while it is dirt cheap to buy in Fernhill, there are a few reasons why you might not want to.

Having said that, residents are trying hard to turn things around and regenerate the area, with the Council offering massive discounts to long term residents under the right to buy (which may also partly explain why house prices are low). Residents also say the estate has lots of great facilities for families and is a well-located site with good rail connections to Cardiff, surrounded by open fields and woods.

What do you think? If you've been to Fernhill (or live there) and would like to share your views, please do so using the comments box below!

• Read this blog: Should you use an estate agent?

The North/South divide

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In the top 20 most affordable streets to buy a property, not a single one is found in London, the South East or the South West.

Instead the list is dominated by the North East and North West with the two regions accounting for 15 of the 20 steets.

Indeed, of the top ten, it’s only Fernhill which is not found in these regions.

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The top ten cheapest streets

So let’s have a look at exactly which streets are the cheapest to buy in England and Wales:

Buying in the Boro’

According to the report, the most affordable postcode in which to purchase a property is TS6, a part of Teesside which includes Middlesbrough, which accounts for five of the cheapest seven streets, and six of the top 20 overall.

 I’m a big fan of Upmystreet.com, a site which gives you full details on all sorts of things from crime to council tax on any selected street, so it’s a great resource for checking out just why property prices will be so low in this postcode. And, according to Upmystreet.com , this is an area dominated by pensioners living in council accommodation, with more than 40% over the age of 60. Of those of working age, unemployment is high while household income levels are among the lowest in the country.

The properties are small in this area, typically one or two bedroom, which doesn’t exactly help their value either. On the plus side, crime levels are generally lower than the average for the rest of England.

• Watch this video: Four tips for buying your first home

The nation as a whole

So how does the average cost of a property in the northern regions compare with those in the south? The table below outlines the average value of the ten cheapest streets in each region, and reinforces the North/South divide (though worth noting is the fact that the South East has jumped from 7th last year to 5th this time around).

One interesting fact is that the recovery of the housing market has seen the average valuations increase in each of the regions. Those rises have taken the average price of properties in the capital above £100,000 – previously they came to £99,740.

Even if you are going for a serious budget option, you will still be shelling out six figures if you want to buy in the London area.

A good investment?

What’s clear from looking at these streets in a bit of detail is that while the properties are exceptionally cheap, relatively speaking, there are reasons for the low prices, from poor work prospects to insufficient transport links to high crime levels. All factors which you should be looking into before buying any property, whether it will be your residence or a buy-to-let investment.

Personally, I won’t be rushing off to buy in Fernhill just yet.

More: The top 10 most expensive places to rent | Save £2K and clear your mortgage 5 years early!