A weekday morning in west Hull, a for-sale sign creaking softly, the smell of fresh gloss escaping through a half-open door. Inside, a two-bed terrace with high ceilings and a little yard, a fridge still humming, a patched bit of plaster above the stairs. The agent’s card says “Guide £92,500” and you tilt your head, doing mental maths that used to feel impossible. Mortgage payments that wouldn’t throttle your weekends. A walk to the corner shop that doesn’t involve dodging tourists. A city that’s big enough for opportunity and small enough to know your neighbour’s dog. You can feel the ground under your feet again. I catch myself thinking: this is still possible. A message buzzes from a friend in Stoke-on-Trent with a near-identical listing. Another pings from Sunderland. It’s not a fluke. It’s a map.
Why these sub-£100k homes still exist in 2026
Across parts of the North and Midlands, you still find whole streets of late-Victorian and interwar terraces priced under £100,000. That sounds like a typo when you’ve only seen London and the South East. In cities like Hull, Stoke-on-Trent and Sunderland, price tags are tethered to local wages and long cycles of reinvention. The housing stock is older, the plots modest, the demand steady rather than frantic. That gentler tempo keeps a corner of the market human-sized. It’s not a fairy tale. It’s supply and demand with northern weather and red-brick walls.
Take Stoke-on-Trent. A two-bed in ST4, five minutes from the station, lists at £85,000. The kitchen’s new, the boiler isn’t, and the garden is the sort you measure with a kettle, not a tape. You step out and the bus rattles past the café where builders line up for bacon cobs. Down the road, a semi in Longton shows £99,950, the sort of place where someone’s once painted the gate pillar claret and blue. Real houses, not renderings.
Then the logic lands. These cities grew around pottery, ports, shipyards and ship-to-mouth wages. When the economy shifted, house prices didn’t rocket with tech salaries or overseas cash. They trundled, sometimes dipped, then found a floor. Today you can still swap a studio in Zone 5 for a freehold terrace and a spare room for less than £100,000. Investors notice the yields. First-time buyers notice the breathing space. Both should notice the roofs, the damp, and the reality that cheap can also mean work. Value lives in the detail.
How to find them — and buy well in Hull, Stoke-on-Trent and Sunderland
Start with filters, not dreams. On Rightmove or Zoopla, set a £100,000 ceiling, tick “houses” and “freehold”, then add a five-minute radius around transport you’ll actually use. Check sold-price history on the same street. In Hull, zoom into HU3, HU5 and HU9; in Stoke-on-Trent, ST3 and ST4; in Sunderland, SR4 and SR5 for starter terraces near buses or Metro links. Walk the street at dusk, not just noon. Look for fresh mortar lines on chimneys, drip-stains under sills, and that soft crumble at the base of garden walls that tells you water lingers. A cheap house that’s dry and square beats a glossy one with secrets.
We’ve all lived that moment where a listing looks perfect, then you spot a bowed gutter or a tide mark in the cellar. Don’t skip a homebuyer survey, even on a “bargain”. Budget for rewiring on older stock, and ask hard questions about EPC ratings if gas bills already make you wince. In Stoke-on-Trent, ask your solicitor about coal and clay subsidence. In Sunderland, check noise near main arteries and sea-facing wind exposure. Auctions can be a way in, but the clock is brutal and the legal pack matters more than the photos. Let’s be honest: nobody really does that every day.
Here’s a simple spine for decisions that won’t haunt you.
“Buy the street, not the house.” It’s the oldest surveyor’s line because it’s true.
- Hull: HU3/HU9 terraces, £70k–£95k; watch EPC E and rooflines.
- Stoke-on-Trent: ST3/ST4 terraces/semis, £80k–£100k; check mining searches.
- Sunderland: SR4/SR5 terraces, £75k–£98k; mind bus/Metro and on-street parking.
Thinking beyond the price tag
The number on the window is only half the story. What you buy for under £100,000 in these cities is time: the time to settle, to try a new job without a two-hour commute, to fix a kitchen slowly rather than on credit. A front step where you can drink a tea and know the delivery driver’s name by week three. Some streets will feel right at breakfast and wrong after dark. Some won’t feel right at all. That’s not failure, just filtering. Tell your friends what you’re seeing, trade postcodes, compare boiler stickers. A small freehold with a scuffed bannister can carry a big life. Price is the headline, but the lead is yours to write.
| Key point | Detail | Interest for the reader |
|---|---|---|
| Hull | Two-bed terraces in HU3/HU9 commonly list £75k–£95k; solid rental demand near the hospital and docks. | Entry-level freeholds with realistic refurb budgets and decent transport. |
| Stoke-on-Trent | ST3/ST4 offer £80k–£100k terraces/semis; check ground reports and local sold prices. | Starter homes with garden potential and commuter links to Manchester/Birmingham. |
| Sunderland | SR4/SR5 terraces £75k–£98k; Metro/bus lines shape value street by street. | Coastal city feel with affordable mortgages and space to grow. |
FAQ :
- Are houses under £100,000 in cities a red flag?Low price isn’t a verdict on quality. It reflects local wages, older stock and slower demand. Focus on the street, structural soundness, and running costs rather than the sticker alone.
- Can I get a mortgage on a £90,000 house?Yes, subject to affordability and lender criteria. Some banks have minimum loan sizes, so a larger deposit or adding fees to cash may be needed. A broker can open more doors.
- What fees should I budget beyond the price?Allow for survey (£300–£800), conveyancing (£800–£1,500), searches, removals, insurance, and initial repairs. First-time buyers won’t pay Stamp Duty up to £425,000 in England and NI, but check current thresholds.
- Are auctions a good route under £100k?They can be, especially for tired terraces. Read the legal pack, factor the buyer’s premium, and line up funds in advance. You exchange on the fall of the gavel, so there’s no cooling-off.
- Which areas should I start with in these cities?Hull: HU3/HU5/HU9. Stoke-on-Trent: ST3/ST4 near main bus routes. Sunderland: SR4/SR5 with easy Metro access. Walk them at different times and talk to neighbours.
