South East on a map
The council areas of South East, shaded by the figure you pick. Point at one for its figure, and open its area guide where it has new homes listed.
House prices in South East
Budget decides more than anything else where in South East you can buy. Across its 64 council areas the middle sold price is £383,875, 32% above the £290,000 of the middle council area in England and Wales.
Your budget across South East
Limited by your income: £159,750 of borrowing plus your deposit, at 4.5× income. £842 to £927 a month at 4.84% to 5.7%.
0 of the 64 council areas in South East have a middle sold price within it.
The full affordability toolIllustration, not advice. Worked out with the rules and rates in force today, as the full tool does.
Elmbridge is the dearest at £665,000 and Gosport the cheapest at £255,000: the same budget buys 2.6 times as much home by price at one end of South East as at the other.
The marker on each bar is the middle asking price of the new homes for sale there today. In 49 of the 55 council areas with enough new homes to compare, new homes are asking more than the homes sold around them: a new home is often larger or a different kind, so the gap is not the new-build premium on its own.
New build homes in South East
Where the new homes are
3,272 new homes are for sale across South East today. Arun has the most (193), then Wealden (171).
New homes sold against resales
In the middle council area of South East, homes sold new went for 22% more than resales over the last twelve months.
The gap is widest in Bracknell Forest (52% more) and narrowest in Waverley (21% less). It compares every new home with every resale, whatever their size and kind, so read it as the price of buying new there, not as a like-for-like premium.
Price per square foot
Price per square foot takes the size of the home out of the comparison. It runs from £283 in Isle of Wight to £597 in Elmbridge.
How busy the housing market is in South East
Homes sold for every thousand households
Sales for every thousand households show how often homes change hands, which is how much choice a buyer has in a year. Eastleigh is the busiest (32) and Slough the quietest (14), around a middle of 27.
A busy market is a sign of both supply and demand: more homes are coming up, and more buyers are competing for them.
Are house prices rising in South East?
Past growth says where demand has been, not where it will be: nothing here is a forecast.
Price change in the last year
Sold prices were flat in the middle council area of South East over the last year. Epsom and Ewell moved most (up 5.0%) and Hart least (down 4.5%).
The mix of homes sold changes from year to year, so a single council area can swing for that reason alone; read the pattern across the areas more than any one bar.
Price change over three years
Over three years the middle council area's sold prices fell 1.5%, led by Surrey Heath (up 8.9%).
Growth in dearer and cheaper areas
Price change over three years
Middle sold price
Over three years the dearer council areas of South East have loosely grown faster than the cheaper ones, widening the gap between them.
Growth against distance to central London
Price change over three years
Miles to central London
Council areas closer to central London have loosely seen more growth over three years than those further out.
Living near central London: what closeness costs
Price per square foot against distance to central London
Middle sold price per square foot
Miles to central London
Being ten miles closer to central London costs about £30 more per square foot across South East, a clear pattern: on a home of a thousand square feet that is about £30,000.
Who drives to work
Share of workers who drive to work
Miles to central London
The further a council area is from central London, the more of its workers loosely drive to work.
Which part of South East has the best schools?
In the middle council area of South East, 91% of state schools with a graded Ofsted outcome are judged good or better.
School outcomes against house prices
Middle sold price
State schools judged good or better
Council areas with more schools judged good or better are clearly dearer: every ten points more goes with about £90,000 on the middle sold price. The schools do not cause all of that; both follow the same households.
A council area is large: the school a home is offered depends on its own address, so check the schools around a development before relying on this.
GCSE results by council area
Attainment 8 is a pupil's score across eight GCSE subjects. The secondary schools of Epsom and Ewell average the highest in South East (58.5) and those of Gosport the lowest (39.4).
Results are clearly higher closer to central London.
Who lives in South East
How built up each area is
Density says what kind of place an area is: how close the homes, shops, schools and stations sit. Portsmouth is the most built up (5,150 people per square kilometre) and Chichester the least (158).
Age against income
Middle household income
Middle age of residents
Age and income are not linked across South East: there are younger and older areas at every level of income.
Where the families are
People per household
Residents under fifteen
Areas towards the top right have the most children and the largest households: Slough, Dartford and Milton Keynes lead for residents under fifteen. Towards the bottom left are the areas with more single people and couples.
Renting against house prices
Households renting privately
Middle sold price
In the middle council area of South East, 18% of households rent privately. Cheaper areas loosely have more renters.
The most walkable places to live in South East
Walk score against density
Walk score, out of a hundred
People per square kilometre
Brighton and Hove, Portsmouth and Oxford have the highest walk scores in South East. Denser areas are clearly more walkable, because more is close by; an area above the line is easier on foot than its density alone would suggest.
Living without a car
Share of workers who drive to work
Households with no car
Another way to see how easy it is to get about is how many households manage without a car. In Brighton and Hove, 37% have none, the most in South East. Areas towards the bottom right are where daily life depends least on driving.
Council tax and recorded crime in South East
Council tax, band D
A band D home pays £2,756 a year in Lewes, the most in South East, and £1,953 in Windsor and Maidenhead, the least: a difference of £804 every year for the same band.
A new home is banded when it is finished, so ask the builder which band each plot is expected to fall in.
Recorded crime
Police recorded 149 crimes for every thousand residents in Hastings over the last year held, and 46 in Hart. City centres record more because of the people who visit them, not only those who live there, and a council area's figure hides wide differences between its streets.
Find your council area in South East
Every council area of South East side by side. Sort by what matters most to you, set a budget to narrow them, and open an area's guide or its new homes.
64 of 64 council areas
| Council area | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adur | £382,000 | +1.9% | £419 | 91% | 64 | £2,548 | 27 |
| Arun | £336,000 | -4.0% | £361 | 88% | 52 | £2,487 | 193 |
| Ashford | £340,000 | -1.4% | £358 | 91% | 36 | £2,410 | 25 |
| Basingstoke and Deane | £367,750 | +0.8% | £388 | 88% | 40 | £2,255 | 47 |
| Bracknell Forest | £415,000 | 0.0% | £444 | 85% | 49 | £2,265 | 55 |
| Brighton and Hove | £436,500 | +3.9% | £491 | 85% | 85 | £2,581 | 9 |
| Buckinghamshire | £465,000 | +2.5% | £459 | 91% | 42 | £2,527 | 131 |
| Canterbury | £345,000 | -1.4% | £363 | 95% | 49 | £2,419 | 62 |
| Cherwell | £350,000 | -2.4% | £379 | 88% | 39 | £2,583 | 53 |
| Chichester | £425,000 | +2.4% | £409 | 83% | 30 | £2,470 | 134 |
| Crawley | £351,250 | +0.4% | £403 | 89% | 56 | £2,418 | 0 |
| Dartford | £375,000 | +1.2% | £426 | 91% | 52 | £2,375 | 90 |
| Dover | £289,950 | -1.5% | £312 | 86% | 41 | £2,462 | 43 |
| East Hampshire | £425,000 | +1.2% | £412 | 91% | 32 | £2,344 | 57 |
| Eastbourne | £275,000 | -1.8% | £315 | 80% | 67 | £2,654 | 0 |
| Eastleigh | £348,000 | +1.5% | £373 | 95% | 54 | £2,342 | 43 |
| Elmbridge | £665,000 | +2.3% | £597 | 100% | 59 | £2,558 | 16 |
| Epsom and Ewell | £560,000 | +5.0% | £548 | 93% | 62 | £2,531 | 0 |
| Fareham | £342,500 | 0.0% | £373 | 87% | 48 | £2,271 | 7 |
| Folkestone and Hythe | £320,000 | +1.6% | £321 | 91% | 51 | £2,539 | 73 |
| Gosport | £255,000 | +0.3% | £295 | 78% | 60 | £2,344 | 0 |
| Gravesham | £370,000 | +4.1% | £385 | 94% | 58 | £2,408 | 19 |
| Guildford | £495,800 | -0.8% | £515 | 100% | 45 | £2,547 | 32 |
| Hart | £450,000 | -4.5% | £452 | 97% | 45 | £2,400 | 11 |
| Hastings | £290,000 | +2.7% | £310 | 80% | 64 | £2,677 | 0 |
| Havant | £325,000 | +0.5% | £344 | 83% | 50 | £2,320 | 18 |
| Horsham | £435,000 | 0.0% | £444 | 90% | 39 | £2,441 | 56 |
| Isle of Wight | £260,000 | -1.9% | £283 | 84% | 50 | £2,626 | 0 |
| Lewes | £382,750 | +0.2% | £399 | 96% | 41 | £2,756 | 48 |
| Maidstone | £364,000 | -0.4% | £380 | 90% | 42 | £2,503 | 63 |
| Medway | £310,000 | 0.0% | £355 | 93% | 57 | £2,329 | 125 |
| Mid Sussex | £435,000 | -0.1% | £444 | 93% | 45 | £2,474 | 78 |
| Milton Keynes | £335,000 | -4.3% | £362 | 93% | 55 | £2,372 | 154 |
| Mole Valley | £585,000 | +2.4% | £526 | 93% | 41 | £2,520 | 16 |
| New Forest | £385,000 | +2.7% | £404 | 94% | 42 | £2,420 | 49 |
| Oxford | £450,000 | 0.0% | £531 | 94% | 73 | £2,678 | 30 |
| Portsmouth | £260,000 | 0.0% | £293 | 88% | 83 | £2,292 | 10 |
| Reading | £350,000 | -1.4% | £406 | 91% | 68 | £2,613 | 29 |
| Reigate and Banstead | £482,500 | +0.5% | £484 | 94% | 51 | £2,567 | 11 |
| Rother | £355,000 | -2.7% | £349 | 93% | 30 | £2,701 | 39 |
| Runnymede | £465,000 | +3.3% | £484 | 88% | 55 | £2,493 | 44 |
| Rushmoor | £365,000 | +1.4% | £399 | 90% | 63 | £2,320 | 54 |
| Sevenoaks | £480,000 | +1.1% | £484 | 95% | 35 | £2,522 | 13 |
| Slough | £397,000 | +1.8% | £461 | 85% | 63 | £2,414 | 14 |
| South Oxfordshire | £440,000 | -2.2% | £459 | 91% | 32 | £2,598 | 84 |
| Southampton | £261,501 | -1.3% | £305 | 83% | 71 | £2,381 | 6 |
| Spelthorne | £465,000 | 0.0% | £497 | 92% | 62 | £2,526 | 7 |
| Surrey Heath | £490,000 | +4.3% | £446 | 92% | 43 | £2,585 | 117 |
| Swale | £300,000 | -3.1% | £338 | 86% | 42 | £2,406 | 122 |
| Tandridge | £490,000 | -0.8% | £472 | 89% | 34 | £2,595 | 18 |
| Test Valley | £355,000 | -2.1% | £378 | 85% | 32 | £2,306 | 0 |
| Thanet | £295,000 | +0.5% | £316 | 87% | 64 | £2,491 | 88 |
| Tonbridge and Malling | £405,000 | -3.6% | £426 | 92% | 44 | £2,472 | 124 |
| Tunbridge Wells | £440,000 | +2.3% | £455 | 94% | 44 | £2,446 | 56 |
| Vale of White Horse | £385,000 | -3.7% | £390 | 86% | 31 | £2,577 | 150 |
| Waverley | £540,000 | -0.9% | £512 | 100% | 40 | £2,605 | 50 |
| Wealden | £370,000 | -3.9% | £383 | 93% | 31 | £2,728 | 171 |
| West Berkshire | £385,500 | -3.9% | £411 | 86% | 38 | £2,505 | 48 |
| West Oxfordshire | £385,000 | -0.6% | £403 | 96% | 33 | £2,567 | 7 |
| Winchester | £460,000 | 0.0% | £437 | 98% | 33 | £2,360 | 104 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | £525,000 | -2.8% | £507 | 85% | 55 | £1,953 | 97 |
| Woking | £450,000 | +0.9% | £490 | 96% | 59 | £2,598 | 8 |
| Wokingham | £482,250 | -2.6% | £476 | 93% | 46 | £2,498 | 37 |
| Worthing | £345,000 | -3.4% | £391 | 100% | 65 | £2,456 | 0 |
Buying in South East: your questions
What are the best places to live in South East?
It depends on what you need, so this guide compares rather than ranks. Each of the 64 council areas of South East is set against the others on sold prices, price growth, new homes, schools, the people who live there, how easy it is to get about, council tax and recorded crime, and each links to its own area guide.
What is the average house price in South East?
The middle sold price across the council areas of South East is £383,875 over the last twelve months. It runs from £255,000 in Gosport to £665,000 in Elmbridge.
Where are the cheapest places to buy a house in South East?
By middle sold price over the last twelve months, the lowest are Gosport (£255,000), Portsmouth (£260,000), Isle of Wight (£260,000).
Are house prices in South East going up?
Over the last twelve months the middle sold price rose in 28 of the 64 council areas of South East. Epsom and Ewell moved most, up 5%. Past changes are not a forecast.
Where are the new build homes in South East?
3,272 new homes are for sale across 56 council areas of South East today. Arun has 193, Wealden has 171, Milton Keynes has 154.
Which part of South East has the best schools?
By the share of state schools with a graded Ofsted outcome of good or better, Elmbridge (100%), Guildford (100%), Waverley (100%) lead. The school a home is offered depends on its own address, so check the schools near a development.
Area guides in South East
- Living in Adur27 new homes
- Living in Arun193 new homes
- Living in Ashford25 new homes
- Living in Basingstoke and Deane47 new homes
- Living in Bracknell Forest55 new homes
- Living in Brighton and Hove9 new homes
- Living in Buckinghamshire131 new homes
- Living in Canterbury62 new homes
- Living in Cherwell53 new homes
- Living in Chichester134 new homes
- Living in Dartford90 new homes
- Living in Dover43 new homes
- Living in East Hampshire57 new homes
- Living in Eastleigh43 new homes
- Living in Elmbridge16 new homes
- Living in Fareham7 new homes
- Living in Folkestone and Hythe73 new homes
- Living in Gravesham19 new homes
- Living in Guildford32 new homes
- Living in Hart11 new homes
- Living in Havant18 new homes
- Living in Horsham56 new homes
- Living in Lewes48 new homes
- Living in Maidstone63 new homes
- Living in Medway125 new homes
- Living in Mid Sussex78 new homes
- Living in Milton Keynes154 new homes
- Living in Mole Valley16 new homes
- Living in New Forest49 new homes
- Living in Oxford30 new homes
- Living in Portsmouth10 new homes
- Living in Reading29 new homes
- Living in Reigate and Banstead11 new homes
- Living in Rother39 new homes
- Living in Runnymede44 new homes
- Living in Rushmoor54 new homes
- Living in Sevenoaks13 new homes
- Living in Slough14 new homes
- Living in South Oxfordshire84 new homes
- Living in Southampton6 new homes
- Living in Spelthorne7 new homes
- Living in Surrey Heath117 new homes
- Living in Swale122 new homes
- Living in Tandridge18 new homes
- Living in Thanet88 new homes
- Living in Tonbridge and Malling124 new homes
- Living in Tunbridge Wells56 new homes
- Living in Vale of White Horse150 new homes
- Living in Waverley50 new homes
- Living in Wealden171 new homes
- Living in West Berkshire48 new homes
- Living in West Oxfordshire7 new homes
- Living in Winchester104 new homes
- Living in Windsor and Maidenhead97 new homes
- Living in Woking8 new homes
- Living in Wokingham37 new homes
Other regional buying guides
- East Midlands
- East of England
- London
- North East
- North West
- South West
- Wales
- West Midlands
- Yorkshire and The Humber
- Cambridgeshire
- Derbyshire
- Devon
- East Sussex
- Essex
- Gloucestershire
- Greater Manchester
- Hampshire
- Hertfordshire
- Inner London
- Kent
- Lancashire
- Leicestershire
- Lincolnshire
- Merseyside
- Norfolk
- Nottinghamshire
- Outer London
- Oxfordshire
- Staffordshire
- Suffolk
- Surrey
- Tyne and Wear
- Warwickshire
- West Midlands
- West Sussex
- West Yorkshire
- Worcestershire
New to buying? The step-by-step guides take you from deciding to moving in, and the mortgage guides cover what you can borrow.