Newly released research by estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk, highlights the instances of towns and cities having the same name, comparing the cost of living in each area. Through the lens of the different areas, the study paints a picture of how prices vary across the UK.
Big differences
While most people know of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, there’s a village that goes by that name in Gloucestershire in the Cotswold district. While they share the same name, property prices couldn’t be more different. Whereas it costs typically £138,796 to buy a place in the Yorkshire Barnsley, in the Gloucester version prices average at £417,103, 201% more.
Another example is Ingleton. There’s a village called Ingleton in North Yorkshire, in the heart of the Dales, while the other one is in County Durham. It costs just £106,780 to buy in the Durham Ingleton, seeing as it’s one of the most affordable counties to live in. It costs more than double (117%) that in North Yorkshire’s Ingleton, at £231,973.
Not every area is an example of prices differing significantly, however, as people living the seaside town of St Ives in Cornwall (£254,382) would only have to pay 3% more in the Cambridgeshire town of the same name (£260,893).
North-South divide
In a number of instances, the study highlights the steep North-South divide in the UK.
The village of Barnston in Merseyside commands a typical house price of £171,729, which is dwarfed by the cost of £414,882 in Barnston, Essex. The difference between the two is 142%.
Similarly, Ripley in Derbyshire has a typical house price of £194,157. It would cost 136% more to buy in the village of Ripley, Surrey, which costs £457,442.
Same name, different country
Scotland and Wales share the names of some more expensive English locations.
The rural village of Harthill in Scotland’s North Lanarkshire (£112,636) has another village by the same name in Cheshire (£220,668), but the difference in price is 96%.
Holt, a market town in the borough of Wrexham, Wales, (£167,435), shares the name with a North Norfolk town (£277,131), though the latter is 66% more expensive.
Colby Short, Founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, commented: “While it’s something of a novelty to analyse the price differences of towns and villages with the same name, the study does offer a window into how affordability is so divergent across the UK.
“Broadly it’s far more expensive to buy in the South of England than the North, while prices tend to be higher in England than Scotland and Wales.
“These factors are reflected in the study, as it’s rare for somebody to be able to pay a similar price for comparable properties in two areas with the same name.”
