Average sale prices · HM Land Registry / UK HPI
The average property in South East sells for £379,532, down slightly (0.5%) over the past year. Prices have grown from around £64k in the mid-1990s.
House price ÷ median earnings · ONS data
A home in South East costs 9.6x the local median salary — stretched, improving from a peak of 11.1x in 2021.
Average monthly rent · ONS Private Rental Index
Average monthly rent in South East is £1,409, up 3.4% year-on-year. Rents have risen consistently over the past five years.
Monthly residential transactions · HMRC (seasonally adjusted)
2yr fixed · 75% LTV · 25yr term · BoE avg. rate
Based on the average South East price of £379,532 with a 25% deposit (£95k), a 2-year fixed mortgage at 3.97% costs around £1,498 per month.
Monthly cost comparison based on current data
Monthly mortgage payments (£1,498) are £89 more than renting (£1,409). However, buying requires an upfront deposit of £95k — it would take around 10 years to recoup that cost compared to renting and investing the difference.
Data sources (all free & public): HM Land Registry Price Paid Data & UK House Price Index · ONS Housing Affordability Ratios · ONS Private Rental Index · Bank of England Quoted Household Interest Rates · HMRC Monthly Property Transactions
Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2021. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
There were 94,680 residential property transactions across the UK in January 2026 (seasonally adjusted), down 0.8% compared to a year ago. The highest monthly volume on record was 204,980 in June 2021.