In 2025, 46.3% of home sales in North Somerset were at or under £300,000, the price up to which eligible first-time buyers in England pay no Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). In Bath and North East Somerset the share was 27.9%, and 32.8% of sales there were above £500,000, where first-time buyer relief does not apply at all. South Gloucestershire (36.6%) and Bristol (34.5%) sit between them.
The four councils are the unitary authorities of the former county of Avon, commonly called the West of England. The headline medians hide a mix effect: North Somerset's median is at least 14.6% below Bristol's for every type of home, yet only 9.3% below overall, because it sells far more detached and semi-detached homes and fewer flats. The analysis draws on 17,180 Land Registry sales in 2025 across the four councils (fetched 26 September 2026); Homecost's data guides cover more areas.
What the £300,000 line is
For a purchase in England, HMRC's first-time buyer relief means no SDLT on the first £300,000 and 5% on the slice from £300,001 to £500,000. Above £500,000 the relief is not available and standard rates apply (HMRC, 26 September 2026). Eligibility depends on the buyer's circumstances, including whether everyone on the purchase is a first-time buyer, so a conveyancer confirms it. This guide describes where sale prices sit against the line, not who qualifies.
Four councils, four price levels
Figures cover HM Land Registry standard-price sales of detached, semi-detached and terraced houses and flats in each council in 2025.
| Council | Sales in 2025 | Median (all types) | Houses: median | Flats: median | Flats as share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath and North East Somerset | 2,762 | £400,000 | £430,000 | £275,000 | 19.7% |
| North Somerset | 3,864 | £317,500 | £349,995 | £180,000 | 18.0% |
| South Gloucestershire | 4,343 | £340,000 | £355,000 | £205,000 | 13.7% |
| Bristol | 6,211 | £350,000 | £380,000 | £265,000 | 30.3% |
North Somerset's median (£317,500) is the lowest of the four and sits £17,500 above the line, with 46.3% of sales at or under it. Bath and North East Somerset's median (£400,000) is £100,000 above the line.
| Council | At or under £300,000 | £300,001 to £500,000 | Over £500,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bath and North East Somerset | 771 (27.9%) | 1,085 (39.3%) | 906 (32.8%) |
| North Somerset | 1,788 (46.3%) | 1,430 (37.0%) | 646 (16.7%) |
| South Gloucestershire | 1,590 (36.6%) | 2,117 (48.7%) | 636 (14.6%) |
| Bristol | 2,143 (34.5%) | 2,896 (46.6%) | 1,172 (18.9%) |
At or under £300,000 includes sales at exactly £300,000 (39 in Bath and North East Somerset, 49 in North Somerset, 90 in South Gloucestershire and 98 in Bristol). Bristol's share fell 3.5 points from 38.0% of 5,849 sales in 2024; the other three moved by 1.0 point or less (2024 shares: Bath and North East Somerset 27.7%, North Somerset 45.3%, South Gloucestershire 37.2%). The line is fixed in pounds, so these shares move as prices and the mix of sales change.
The mix of homes does most of the work
Each cell shows the 2025 median for that type, then the share of that type's sales at or under £300,000.
| Type of home | Bath and North East Somerset | North Somerset | South Gloucestershire | Bristol |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £590,000 · 3.7% | £465,000 · 7.3% | £500,000 · 4.1% | £544,665 · 8.0% |
| Semi-detached | £395,000 · 21.9% | £308,998 · 48.3% | £354,000 · 21.5% | £365,025 · 23.0% |
| Terraced | £370,000 · 32.9% | £265,000 · 67.8% | £299,950 · 53.6% | £377,250 · 22.4% |
| Flat | £275,000 · 56.2% | £180,000 · 88.5% | £205,000 · 91.6% | £265,000 · 64.3% |
| Detached and semi-detached, share of all sales | 49.0% | 61.5% | 56.3% | 28.2% |
Against Bristol, North Somerset's medians are lower for every type: detached 14.6% lower, semi-detached 15.3% lower, terraced 29.8% lower and flats 32.1% lower. The overall gap is only 9.3% because 61.5% of its sales are detached or semi-detached, against 28.2% in Bristol, and flats are 18.0% of its sales against 30.3%. South Gloucestershire follows the same pattern (houses 6.6% lower, flats 22.6% lower, overall 2.9% lower), covered in First-Time Buyer Stamp Duty in South Gloucestershire, 2026.
Bath and North East Somerset runs the other way. Its median is 14.3% above Bristol's, yet no type is dearer by more than 8.3% (detached 8.3% dearer, semi-detached 8.2%, flats 3.8%), and terraced homes are 1.9% cheaper (£370,000 against £377,250). Type mix explains part of the difference: 49.0% of its sales are detached or semi-detached against 28.2% in Bristol, and flats are 19.7% of its sales against 30.3%.
Terraced homes show where the line falls. The median is £265,000 in North Somerset (67.8% of terraced sales at or under the line), £299,950 in South Gloucestershire (53.6%), £370,000 in Bath and North East Somerset (32.9%) and £377,250 in Bristol (22.4%). Type is a coarse filter: age, size and location still vary within each row.
Postcode sectors: where the line runs through the market
Postcode sectors (such as BS22 8) with at least 30 sales in the council in 2025 give a finer view.
| Council | Sectors with 30+ sales | Sectors with a median at or under £300,000 | Of those: house-led / mixed / flat-led | Sectors with 30+ house sales | Of those: house median at or under £300,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath and North East Somerset | 24 | 2 | 2 / 0 / 0 | 24 | 1 |
| North Somerset | 30 | 9 | 5 / 3 / 1 | 28 | 6 |
| South Gloucestershire | 39 | 8 | 7 / 1 / 0 | 38 | 4 |
| Bristol | 52 | 12 | 8 / 0 / 4 | 44 | 5 |
House-led means flats were under 25% of the sector's sales; flat-led means 75% or more. North Somerset stands out on houses: 6 of its 28 sectors with 30 or more house sales have a house median at or under £300,000, against 5 of 44 in Bristol (see Bristol districts where first-time buyers pay no stamp duty, 2026), 4 of 38 in South Gloucestershire and 1 of 24 in Bath and North East Somerset. The two Bath and North East Somerset sectors and the nine North Somerset sectors are listed below.
| Sector | Local names on 30+ sales | Sales | Median | Flats, share of sales | House median | At or under £300,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA3 3 | Radstock | 188 | £270,000 | 11.2% | £275,000 | 78.2% |
| BS39 7 | Paulton | 108 | £291,000 | 12.0% | £301,000 | 55.6% |
| BS23 1 | Weston-super-Mare | 81 | £180,000 | 75.3% | 20 house sales | 93.8% |
| BS23 2 | Weston-super-Mare | 213 | £184,000 | 72.8% | £355,000 | 79.8% |
| BS23 3 | Weston-super-Mare | 127 | £205,000 | 29.9% | £232,000 | 91.3% |
| BS22 6 | Weston-super-Mare | 131 | £250,000 | 9.9% | £258,000 | 80.9% |
| BS22 7 | Weston-super-Mare; St Georges | 213 | £262,500 | 8.0% | £269,500 | 69.0% |
| BS22 8 | Weston-super-Mare | 220 | £265,500 | 5.9% | £270,000 | 73.2% |
| BS24 7 | Locking; Weston-super-Mare; West Wick | 222 | £272,000 | 15.3% | £282,498 | 66.2% |
| BS23 4 | Weston-super-Mare | 140 | £275,000 | 34.3% | £334,500 | 55.7% |
| BS24 8 | none on 30+ sales | 163 | £280,000 | 5.5% | £283,500 | 66.9% |
The Land Registry records Weston-super-Mare as the locality on 30 or more of the 2025 sales in 8 of the 9 North Somerset sectors; in BS24 8 no locality reaches 30 sales, so none is named. All eleven sectors lie wholly inside their council, so the council figures and whole-sector figures are identical.
The two Bath and North East Somerset sectors were also at or under £300,000 in 2024 and in April to December 2025. In North Somerset, 8 of the 9 were also at or under the line in 2024 (BS23 4's 2024 median was £308,000) and all 9 in April to December 2025. New-build homes are 52 of the 163 sales in BS24 8 (31.9%) and 30 of the 222 in BS24 7 (13.5%), so those two medians partly reflect new-build prices.
What a median-priced purchase pays
The table shows SDLT on a purchase priced at each council's 2025 median, from the Homecost calculator (checked against HMRC's rates), with each council's 2026-27 Band D council tax.
| Council | 2025 median price | SDLT with first-time buyer relief | SDLT at standard rates (no surcharge) | Band D, 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath and North East Somerset | £400,000 | £5,000 | £10,000 | £2,383.42 |
| North Somerset | £317,500 | £875 | £5,875 | £2,491.22 |
| South Gloucestershire | £340,000 | £2,000 | £7,000 | £2,550.59 |
| Bristol | £350,000 | £2,500 | £7,500 | £2,713.68 |
At each of the four medians the relief reduces the SDLT bill by £5,000, because between £300,000 and £500,000 the saving is a flat £5,000. At £500,000 a first-time buyer pays £10,000; at £500,001 the relief no longer applies and the bill is £15,000.05. Band D is the benchmark band: Bristol's (£2,713.68) is £330.26 a year, or 13.9%, above Bath and North East Somerset's (£2,383.42); the mean across 296 authorities is £2,410.97. A home's actual bill depends on its band, which is based on its open-market value on 1 April 1991 in England (gov.uk).
What the data cannot show
- Medians of sales, not valuations. These are prices paid for homes that sold in 2025. They say nothing about the value of any individual home or the price it would fetch.
- Councils, not postcode districts. Postcode districts cross council boundaries: BS31 has 684 postcodes in Bath and North East Somerset, 2 in Bristol and 3 in South Gloucestershire; BS8 has 717 in Bristol and 111 in North Somerset; BS14 has 665 in Bristol and 59 in Bath and North East Somerset; BS15 and BS16 split between South Gloucestershire and Bristol. Every figure here is counted by the council each postcode belongs to.
- Registers grow. Homecost's Average house price in Bristol 2026: what buyers paid gave 2025 medians of £399,950, £350,000, £335,000 and £315,000 for Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset on 18 June. Today's are £400,000, £350,000, £340,000 and £317,500: Bristol's is unchanged, and the register now holds more 2025 sales (South Gloucestershire 4,343 against 4,061). The Land Registry says the gap between sale and registration typically ranges from two weeks to two months, and occasionally longer.
- Rounding. Medians of an even number of sales are the midpoint of the two middle prices, and money figures are rounded to the nearest pound.
This is general information, not advice. Speak to a qualified adviser before acting.
Look up a street
Enter a postcode in the Homecost tool to see recorded sales, council tax and a true monthly cost: BS22 8QH in Weston-super-Mare (North Somerset) or BA3 3PD in Radstock (Bath and North East Somerset).
Related guides: Average house price in Bath 2026: what buyers paid, Bath vs Bristol: the true cost of buying and running a home 2026, First-Time Buyer £300k Line: House or Flat Market by City 2026 and Stamp Duty first-time buyer relief explained (UK 2026). For the wider cost of buying, see The true cost of buying a £300,000 home in the UK in 2026, or browse Regional Prices guides.