Considering that Manchester is one of the UK’s fastest growing cities, it might not strike you as a great location to buy your first home, especially if you’re on a budget. And while there are certain parts of Manchester such as Altrincham and Bowdon where the average house price is upwards of £750,000, there are also more affordable parts of Manchester ideal for first time buyers.
Some parts of Manchester offer housing as cheap as £140,000 – so don’t give up on your search if you’re yet to find a property that is within your budget. To help you out, in this article, we’ll go over some of the cheapest locations throughout Manchester that are ideal for first-time buyers looking to get their hands on a property without breaking the bank.
Ardwick
One would assume that property prices near the city center would be very expensive and out of budget for the average first-time buyer. However, Ardwick is one of the cheapest parts of Manchester as far as properties are concerned. The average price of a home in this area is £183,000, which is around £15,000 lower than the average price of a home in Manchester.
Wigan
While Wigan isn’t exactly in Manchester, it is a relatively large town in the Greater Manchester area. It’s a prosperous town with a population of around 330,000 people. The average price of a home in Wigan is £145,000, which is nearly half of the UK average. It’s the perfect place to start if you are a first-time buyer on a budget and are desperately looking to get on the property ladder.
Salford
If you want to live in Greater Manchester but not as far as Wigan, Salford is just the place for you. It is around 15 minutes away from the Manchester city center and the average price of a home in the area is £173,000. Slightly more expensive than Wigan but way cheaper than the average home in Manchester itself.
As Salford is so close to Manchester, you can easily get into the city via a taxi, train, or with your own personal vehicle. It’s an area filled with life, and if you buy a house there, rest assured you’ll see a positive return on your investment when you decide to move on or upgrade.
Oldham
Oldham is another area in Greater Manchester you should consider as a first-time home buyer. It is a little further out, meaning getting into Manchester will certainly take around 30-40 minutes, but the value for money you can get on homes in this area are worth it.
The average property price in Oldham starts at £148,953, meaning you’ll need to earn around £25,000 per year to afford a home here. The property prices in Oldham are around £50,000 less than the average price of a home in the entirety of Manchester.
Rochdale
The town of Rochdale, situated just North of Manchester is one of the fastest growing in the area. And although property prices have gone up by around 10% per year over the last few years, it still remains one of the cheapest places to buy a home in Manchester.
The average house price in Rochdale is currently £145,000 – meaning you’ll need an income of around £24,200 to comfortably buy your first home in the area,
Bolton
Over the last few years, Bolton was named one of the most affordable locations for first-time buyers not only in Greater Manchester but across the whole of the United Kingdom. The average price of a home in Bolton is currently at £149,998.
If you’re looking to settle in Bolton and make the town your home, you’ll need to be earning around £25,000 to buy your first property in the area.
Tameside
The Tameside borough is considered a lucrative location for thousands of first-time buyers. Up around eight percent since last year, prices of homes in the area are still around £30,000 lower than the average for Manchester.
Currently, the average home in Tameside is worth around £163,385 – meaning you’ll need to be earning around £28,000 to be able to comfortably afford a home in the area.
Castlefield
If you want to be close to the city center, Castlefield is one of the best areas you can choose for your first home. It’s just a 15 minute walk, making it a far better option than Salford. The average house price in Castlefield is currently £230,000 – making it slightly more expensive than other parts of Manchester, but it’s definitely a worthwhile location if being close to the city is important to you.
Bury
And last but not least, we’d like to tell you more about Bury, a market town situated to the North of Manchester right between Bolton and Rochdale. Being so close to Manchester, the average property price in the area is £191,901, which is quite a bit higher than the average price of a home in many of the areas we’ve already covered.
With that said, it is a town with a lot of potential, so you can’t go wrong with buying your first property in Bury.
Is Buying a Property in Manchester a Good Investment?
Being one of the fastest developing cities in the UK, the property market in Manchester is and will be growing for many years in the future. As more and more people flock to Manchester to seek new opportunities and start their life, the demand for housing will increase, and so will the price of the average home.
In other words, if you end up buying a flat in Manchester this year, in 3-5 years time, if you decide to sell, you are almost guaranteed to make a very nice return on your investment. This is especially true if you end up working with a reputable estate agent who can sell your flat fast and for a great price.
With an average rental yield of between 7.5% and 4.7%, you could even rent out your property and cash in on the ever-increasing demand. As a general rule of thumb, you can’t go wrong with buying a property in Manchester – as long as you plan on staying in the area or keeping the property for the next couple of years.
Should I Buy For The First Time in Manchester?
Manchester can be quite an intimidating area for first-time buyers. Being a fast-growing city, many first-time buyers think that they won’t be able to afford a home in the area, which isn’t quite the case.
And while there are plenty of areas around Manchester (particularly in the South) where the average home can cost upwards of £1,000,000, there are even more areas where the property prices are at times lower. To find your perfect home in Manchester that also fits within your budget, take the areas we suggested above into consideration and look for homes for sales there.
