Yorkshire one of best places for house hunting for first time buyers

Bradford takes the title as the top location, when looking at how much square feet of property first-time buyers would get for their money, with properties in the city costing £133 per sq ft. Sheffield, Leeds and York took 7th, 10th and 14th place respectively, with properties coming to £215 per sq ft, combined, across the county.

Research done by estate agent, Manning Stainton, gathered data across the UK on first-time buyers to see which major cities provided the best value for money based on £ per sq ft of property.

The study observed sales of those looking to make their first step on to the property ladder, and compared different types of houses including: detached, semi-detached, terrace and flats to uncover which provides the best value.

Bradford best value city for first-time buyers

While Bradford is best location for price per sq ft, the Midlands feature heavily amongst the top 10, with Nottingham in 4th, Leicester 8th and Coventry 10th position. Birmingham nips in at 11th, with the Midlands area coming to a combined £217 per sq ft on average - demonstrating good value for first-time buyers.

Second on the list is Belfast with £140 per sq ft on average. The Northern Ireland city is also the best value for those looking to purchase any house type, with a terrace costing £107 per sq ft. Across the Irish Sea sees Liverpool in third at £162 per sq ft, Nottingham the first Midlands city with £165 per sq ft and Glasgow £168 per sq ft, followed by Newcastle £174, Sheffield £177, Leicester £180, Manchester £193 and Coventry and Leeds both £195 make up the remainder of the top 10.

Best cities for detached, semi-detached, terrace and flats

Belfast earns the title of the best value city for any property type, with the average price of a terrace ahead of Bradford with in the city's average coming in at £114 per sq ft, followed by Liverpool £118 per sq ft, Nottingham £140 per sq ft and Glasgow £152 per sq ft.

The difference between regions and house types can be seen more clearly across the country with the majority of semi-detached houses coming in at lower cost per sq ft than flats.

Bradford once again features as the lowest price with an average semi-detached in the city coming in at £127 per sq ft, followed by Belfast (£139), Nottingham (£155), Liverpool (£157) and Newcastle (£163).

Meanwhile flats across the UK see a similar picture, with Bradford at £140 per sq ft, Belfast (£155), Glasgow (£167), Coventry (£175) and Leicester (£176) all as the lowest.

Detached properties continued the trend with Bradford coming in at the most valuable at £152 per sq ft, Belfast (£160), Glasgow (£182), Nottingham (£187) and Liverpool (£190).

Cambridge offering most space for first-time buyers

For those where size matters, Cambridge is the UK's best location with the average house offering first-time buyers 1089 sq ft, Leicester comes a close second with homes averaging a size of 1079 sq ft, other notable cities include York (1067 sq ft), Nottingham (1033 sq ft) and Newcastle (1028 sq ft).

But if space is vital when buying your first property, then Brighton is the city to avoid with the average size a mere 792 sq ft.

Bradford continues to show its credentials for value with the city also taking the accolade of cheapest UK city for first-time buyer purchase, with the average property costing £113,515. Belfast comes in as the second-cheapest location with an average price of £133,129. Other areas cheapest for first-time buyers also include Liverpool (£148,772), Glasgow (£155,361) and Manchester (£160,940).

As expected, houses in the south are being sold for more with Londoners expecting to pay on average £566,589, while Cambridge may have the biggest properties but it comes at a price with the average house being sold for £397,651.

Mark Manning, managing director of Manning Stainton, said: 'This research demonstrates the huge differences in property prices that first-time-buyers across the UK are faced with, with those in the capital having to pay almost six times more per sq ft. of property than those looking to buy in Bradford and Belfast.

 'It's no wonder first time buyer numbers are falling in the capital and more people are choosing to re-locate north to get a foot on the ladder. With interest rates now on the way up, first-time-buyers may be squeezed even more, and I predict we'll see an increase in those re-locating north of the capital in order to be able to buy their first home.'