Interactive map helps home buyers and landlords find affordable homes

A ground-breaking interactive map launched by reallymoving could transform the way first-time buyers search for affordable homes – and help landlords find bargains, too.

By allowing users to input their budget and preferred number of bedrooms, the tool generates a colour-coded heatmap that highlights areas with the greatest availability of properties within their financial reach.

Green zones on the map indicate locations where 90% or more of homes are affordable, orange marks areas with 10-30% affordability and red denotes regions where fewer than 10% of properties fall within budget.

This innovative approach enables buyers to pinpoint specific postcodes, even in pricier regions like London and the South East, where their funds stretch furthest.

Find affordable property

The firm’s chief executive, Rob Houghton, said: “If first-time buyers focus only on average house prices, the dream of owning a home may seem impossible – but those numbers don’t tell the full story.

“Rather than relying on general statistics, buyers can now get a clear, localised view of where they stand the best chance of finding a home they can afford.”

He added: “Even within a 30-minute commute of London, there are locations such as Purfleet, Gravesend, Watford and parts of Croydon where first-time buyers with an average London budget of £400,000 can access a large proportion of the market.

“While high house prices are a challenge, affordability is key and with interest rates steadily coming down we are seeing lenders become increasingly competitive in terms of loan to values and rates, so there’s every reason to be hopeful.”

Explore beyond initial areas

The map encourages buyers to explore beyond their initial search areas, uncovering hidden pockets of affordability.

For example, in London, with an average first-time buyer budget of £400,000, places like Purfleet (97% affordability) and parts of Croydon stand out as viable options.

However, when compared with South Kensington, where no properties are within reach.

Reallymoving’s analysis of major UK cities reveals stark contrasts in affordability.

In Belfast, with a budget of £148,475, 95% of two-bedroom homes in BT13 are affordable, while only 4% in Holywood BT18 are.

Similarly, in Manchester, Accrington BB5 offers 98% affordability for a £180,000 budget, whereas Altrincham WA15 provides just 6%.

In Edinburgh, Bathgate EH47 boasts 80% affordability for £182,995, while Edinburgh EH1 has none.