Posted on Tuesday, 25th February 2025
2025 is predicated to be the year of the ‘Great Downsizing’ as homeowners look for different ways to cut their bills and mortgage costs.
Our research has revealed the UK towns and cities where people can make the most money by downsizing, with Poole in Dorset taking the number one spot outside of London.
The 10 places where you can save the most money by downsizing are:
Unsurprisingly, London boasts the highest profit when it comes to downsizing, with people saving an impressive £617,816 when moving to a smaller home – significantly more than homeowners in Poole, with £435,438.
The 10 places where you can save the least money by downsizing are:
The UK regions where you can save the most money by downsizing are:
Within each region, we have also looked at the most and least profitable places to downsize your property. Have a look to see how much you could make.
South West
Besides London, Southwest England is the most profitable region for homeowners looking to downsize, with an average of £201,326.
This is nearly four times more profitable than downsizing in Scunthorpe, where the average cost of adding a bedroom is £53,861.
Within the region, you can save the most money by downsizing in Poole (£435,438) and the least in Weston-Super-Mare (£87,810).
South East
On average, you can save £179,914 when you move somewhere with one less bedroom in the South East.
Woking, in Surrey, is the most profitable town in the region with £314,930, and ranked fourth overall as one of the best places to downsize in the UK. Hastings is the least profitable in this region (£119,712).
East
In the East of England, you can save an average of £173,455 when buying a property with one less bedroom. However, within the region, residents of St Albans can save the most, with an average profit of £296,606. This is considerably more than residents living in nearby Peterborough, who would profit £103,701 – around a third of those in St Albans.
Wales
Within Wales, where you can typically see a profit of £122,564, Cardiff is unsurprisingly the location where homeowners can make the most money, averaging £162,879. Newport came in second place with a profit of £104,355, and in contrast, you make the least money by downsizing in Swansea (£100,460).
East Midlands
Getting a house with one less bedroom will save you an average of £112,777 in the East Midlands, but this varies quite drastically across the region.
Chesterfield will save you the most money (£134,212), while Lincoln is the least profitable in the area (£75,891).
West Midlands
Moving west, it is marginally less profitable to downsize than in the East Midlands, with an average of £104,994. You earn the most in Solhull (£188,984) and the least amount by downsizing in Stoke-on-Trent (£72,195).
North West
Downsizing to a smaller home in Northwest England will save you around £106,212, but this again is dependent on where you live. Stockport is the most profitable (£144,258), which is more than double the savings found in Blackpool (£72,094).
Yorkshire and the Humber
If you’re looking to downsize your property to something smaller, you would expect to make an average profit of £99,548 in Yorkshire and Humberside. Downsizing in the quaint city of York will give you a healthy profit of £144,569, which is almost triple that of Scunthorpe (£53,861).
North East
You’ll make the least amount of profit by downsizing your home in Northeast England, with homeowners making an average of £90,766. Darlington is town with the most profit to be made (£114,215), compared to Middlesborough, where homeowners can expect to make £60,828.
Downsizing can often be time consuming and stressful. To ease the process, we have a removal system available across the UK. For more information, visit https://space-station.co.uk/free-removals
Methodology:
We calculated the average cost of downsizing in the UK’s 100 largest towns and cities by taking the typical price of moving somewhere with one less bedroom
Data sourced:
