England · report
Buy or rent in England
Owning the average home costs less each month than renting it. Owning counts interest, running costs and the return the deposit could earn, at the average sale price; rent is the average of all private tenancies. Repaying the loan is saving, so it is left out.
- Rent per month
- £1,466
- Owning per month
- £1,382
Try your own numbers
Starting from the average sale price of £293,525 and the average private rent of £1,466 a month in England, and a mortgage rate of 4.6%.
Owning costs less each month than renting.
- Rent a month
- £1,466
- Owning a month, not recovered
- £1,382
- Interest
- £1,013
- Running costs
- £245
- Return given up
- £125
- Cash out a month, if buying
- £1,599
Gross rental yield in England
A year's rent as a share of the average sale price, month by month. Higher means rent is dear compared with buying.
Show the numbers
| Period | England |
|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 6.0% |
| Jul 2026 | 5.9% |
| Jun 2026 | 5.9% |
| May 2026 | 5.9% |
| Apr 2026 | 5.9% |
| Mar 2026 | 5.9% |
| Feb 2026 | 5.9% |
| Jan 2026 | 5.9% |
| Dec 2025 | 5.9% |
| Nov 2025 | 5.8% |
| Oct 2025 | 5.8% |
| Sep 2025 | 5.8% |
| Aug 2025 | 5.8% |
| Jul 2025 | 5.8% |
| Jun 2025 | 5.8% |
| May 2025 | 5.9% |
| Apr 2025 | 5.9% |
| Mar 2025 | 5.7% |
| Feb 2025 | 5.8% |
| Jan 2025 | 5.7% |
| Dec 2024 | 5.7% |
| Nov 2024 | 5.7% |
| Oct 2024 | 5.6% |
| Sep 2024 | 5.6% |
| Aug 2024 | 5.5% |
| Jul 2024 | 5.6% |
| Jun 2024 | 5.6% |
| May 2024 | 5.6% |
| Apr 2024 | 5.6% |
| Mar 2024 | 5.6% |
| Feb 2024 | 5.5% |
| Jan 2024 | 5.5% |
| Dec 2023 | 5.4% |
| Nov 2023 | 5.3% |
| Oct 2023 | 5.3% |
| Sep 2023 | 5.2% |
| Aug 2023 | 5.1% |
| Jul 2023 | 5.1% |
| Jun 2023 | 5.1% |
| May 2023 | 5.1% |
| Apr 2023 | 5.1% |
| Mar 2023 | 5.1% |
| Feb 2023 | 5.0% |
| Jan 2023 | 4.9% |
| Dec 2022 | 4.8% |
| Nov 2022 | 4.8% |
| Oct 2022 | 4.7% |
| Sep 2022 | 4.7% |
| Aug 2022 | 4.7% |
| Jul 2022 | 4.7% |
| Jun 2022 | 4.8% |
| May 2022 | 4.8% |
| Apr 2022 | 4.9% |
| Mar 2022 | 4.9% |
| Feb 2022 | 4.9% |
| Jan 2022 | 4.9% |
| Dec 2021 | 4.9% |
| Nov 2021 | 4.9% |
| Oct 2021 | 5.0% |
| Sep 2021 | 4.9% |
| Aug 2021 | 5.0% |
| Jul 2021 | 5.2% |
| Jun 2021 | 4.9% |
| May 2021 | 5.2% |
| Apr 2021 | 5.2% |
| Mar 2021 | 5.1% |
| Feb 2021 | 5.1% |
| Jan 2021 | 5.2% |
| Dec 2020 | 5.2% |
| Nov 2020 | 5.2% |
| Oct 2020 | 5.3% |
| Sep 2020 | 5.3% |
| Aug 2020 | 5.3% |
| Jul 2020 | 5.4% |
| Jun 2020 | 5.4% |
| May 2020 | 5.5% |
| Apr 2020 | 5.5% |
| Mar 2020 | 5.4% |
| Feb 2020 | 5.5% |
| Jan 2020 | 5.5% |
| Dec 2019 | 5.5% |
| Nov 2019 | 5.4% |
| Oct 2019 | 5.4% |
| Sep 2019 | 5.4% |
| Aug 2019 | 5.4% |
| Jul 2019 | 5.4% |
| Jun 2019 | 5.4% |
| May 2019 | 5.5% |
| Apr 2019 | 5.4% |
| Mar 2019 | 5.5% |
| Feb 2019 | 5.4% |
| Jan 2019 | 5.4% |
| Dec 2018 | 5.4% |
| Nov 2018 | 5.4% |
| Oct 2018 | 5.3% |
| Sep 2018 | 5.3% |
| Aug 2018 | 5.3% |
| Jul 2018 | 5.3% |
| Jun 2018 | 5.3% |
| May 2018 | 5.4% |
| Apr 2018 | 5.4% |
| Mar 2018 | 5.4% |
| Feb 2018 | 5.4% |
| Jan 2018 | 5.4% |
| Dec 2017 | 5.4% |
| Nov 2017 | 5.4% |
| Oct 2017 | 5.4% |
| Sep 2017 | 5.4% |
| Aug 2017 | 5.4% |
| Jul 2017 | 5.4% |
| Jun 2017 | 5.5% |
| May 2017 | 5.5% |
| Apr 2017 | 5.5% |
| Mar 2017 | 5.6% |
| Feb 2017 | 5.6% |
| Jan 2017 | 5.6% |
| Dec 2016 | 5.6% |
| Nov 2016 | 5.6% |
| Oct 2016 | 5.6% |
| Sep 2016 | 5.6% |
| Aug 2016 | 5.5% |
| Jul 2016 | 5.5% |
| Jun 2016 | 5.6% |
| May 2016 | 5.6% |
| Apr 2016 | 5.6% |
| Mar 2016 | 5.6% |
| Feb 2016 | 5.7% |
| Jan 2016 | 5.7% |
| Dec 2015 | 5.7% |
| Nov 2015 | 5.7% |
| Oct 2015 | 5.7% |
| Sep 2015 | 5.7% |
| Aug 2015 | 5.7% |
| Jul 2015 | 5.8% |
| Jun 2015 | 5.8% |
| May 2015 | 5.9% |
| Apr 2015 | 5.9% |
| Mar 2015 | 6.0% |
| Feb 2015 | 5.9% |
| Jan 2015 | 6.0% |
The comparison counts only the costs of owning you never get back: interest, running costs and what the deposit and purchase costs could earn elsewhere. Loan repayments build equity, so they are left out. So is any rise in the home's value, because nobody knows it in advance. Rents here are ONS's average of all private tenancies, new and continuing, which runs below what a new tenant pays; Scotland's are mostly advertised new lets, and its councils and Northern Ireland's take their nation's figure.
Other reports for England
Sale prices have an 80% chance of landing between £281,982 and £314,298 by August 2027.
- Expected, August 2027
- £298,140
- Chance of a rise
- 64%
At the average sale price, a home costs £293,525. With 10% down and a 30-year mortgage, the payment is £1,354 a month. The UK sets no cap on the payment; no more than 15% of new mortgages may lend over 4.5 times income.
- Payment, two incomes
- 21%
- Payment, one income
- 41%
9.3% fewer homes were started in the last 12 months than in an average year of the past decade.
- Started, 12 months
- 135,780
- Per 1,000 residents
- 2.3
Figures for United Kingdom: England has no reliable figures of its own.
Buyers living abroad bought 1.8% of the homes sold here in the four quarters to Q1 2025.
- Bought by buyers abroad, 12 months
- 1.8%
Sale prices have fallen by 3% or more 7 times since 1968. The deepest began in September 2007.
- Deepest fall
- −18.2%
- Recovery from the low
- 62 months
In 2025 the population grew by 228,010 while 139,960 homes were finished: 1.6 new residents for every new home.
- New residents per new home, 2025
- 1.6
- Population change, 2025
- +228,010
5.4% of the 24,927,588 homes counted in the 2021 census had nobody usually living in them.
- Empty, 2021 census
- 5.4%
- Empty homes
- 1,352,135
In 2025, 10% of the homes added came from existing buildings rather than new ones.
- Homes from existing buildings, 2025
- 10%