Gera Hidden Gem Score
9 English regions ranked by the joint opportunity of low house prices and low crime. Data: HM Land Registry + Home Office + ONS + Ofcom (all OGL v3.0).
Which English regions offer the best combination of affordable house prices and low crime in 2026?
According to the Gera Hidden Gem Score — a composite of HM Land Registry UKHPI prices (April 2026), Home Office recorded crime (Year ending December 2025), ONS private rents (May 2026), and Ofcom broadband data — East of England leads all 9 English regions with a GHG of 4.9/10, combining a £336,300 average house price with a regional crime rate of 68.5 per 1,000 residents.
All 9 English regions — GHG ranking
| # | Region | GHG/10 | Avg price | Avg rent/mo | Crime/1k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East of England | 4.9 | £336,300 | £1,280 | 68.5 |
| 2 | East Midlands | 4.4 | £241,620 | £914 | 76.4 |
| 3 | South West | 4.3 | £302,618 | £1,234 | 73.2 |
| 4 | South East | 3.5 | £376,819 | £1,418 | 71.0 |
| 5 | West Midlands | 3.4 | £250,625 | £966 | 81.8 |
| 6 | North West | 2.9 | £216,138 | £954 | 89.1 |
| 7 | North East | 2.2 | £163,190 | £776 | 96.7 |
| 8 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 1.0 | £207,974 | £856 | 96.8 |
| 9 | London | 0.0 | £552,655 | £2,294 | 102.5 |
Sources: HM Land Registry UKHPI (April 2026) · ONS PIPR (May 2026) · Home Office crime (Year ending December 2025) · Ofcom Connected Nations (July 2024). All OGL v3.0.
Build your own ranking
Gera's formula weights price and safety equally. Adjust the sliders to reflect your priorities.
Gera's default formula weights affordability and safety equally. Adjust the sliders below to reflect your priorities and see the ranking change in real time.
| # | Region | Your score | Gera GHG | Avg rent/mo | Crime /1k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | East of England | 7.2 | 4.9/10 | £1,280 | 68.5 |
| 2 | East Midlands | 6.8 | 4.4/10 | £914 | 76.4 |
| 3 | South West | 6.5 | 4.3/10 | £1,234 | 73.2 |
| 4 | South East | 6.1 | 3.5/10 | £1,418 | 71.0 |
| 5 | West Midlands | 6.1 | 3.4/10 | £966 | 81.8 |
| 6 | North East | 6.1 | 2.2/10 | £776 | 96.7 |
| 7 | North West | 6.0 | 2.9/10 | £954 | 89.1 |
| 8 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 5.0 | 1.0/10 | £856 | 96.8 |
| 9 | London | 0.0 | 0.0/10 | £2,294 | 102.5 |
Your score = weighted blend of affordability and safety using your slider settings. Source figures are real ONS PIPR rents (May 2026) and Home Office recorded-crime rates (year ending Dec 2025) — the same figures Gera uses to compute the published GHG. Your inputs stay in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Gera Hidden Gem Score?
- The Gera Hidden Gem Score (GHG, 0–10) is a proprietary index computed by GeraRent that measures the joint opportunity in affordability and safety across the 9 English regions. GHG = 10 × (1 − price_pct) × (1 − crime_rank/9), where price_pct normalises the region's HM Land Registry average house price (April 2026) between the cheapest (North East, £163,190) and most expensive (London, £552,655) English regions, and crime_rank ranks each region by its population-weighted Home Office recorded-crime rate (Year ending December 2025). A score of 10 would mean zero relative price and the lowest crime — no English region achieves this; the top score is 4.9/10 (East of England).
- Why is East of England ranked first?
- East of England has the lowest population-weighted recorded-crime rate of any English region (68.5 offences per 1,000 residents, year ending December 2025) and a mid-range average house price of £336,300 (HM Land Registry UKHPI, April 2026). This combination puts it in rank 1 for safety and means the price premium vs the cheapest region (North East) is partial rather than extreme. Average monthly private rent is £1,280 (ONS PIPR, May 2026).
- Why is London ranked last?
- London scores GHG 0.0/10 because it has the highest average house price (£552,655, UKHPI April 2026) — which puts it at price_pct = 1.0 — and the highest population-weighted crime rate across England's 9 regions (102.5/1,000, Home Office year ending December 2025), giving crime_rank = 9. The formula therefore produces 10 × 0 × 0 = 0. This is a mathematical property of the ranking, not a qualitative statement about London's liveability.
- What crime data is used?
- Home Office Police Force Area (PFA) recorded-crime table, year ending December 2025. Rates exclude fraud (centrally recorded, not attributable to a geographic force) and British Transport Police. Each rate is expressed per 1,000 resident population using ONS mid-2024 PFA population estimates. For regions with multiple PFAs, rates are population-weighted to a single regional figure. City of London (pop 15,111; rate 572.8/1,000) is included in the London aggregate.
- How often is the GHG updated?
- Quarterly, driven by the HM Land Registry UKHPI (monthly) and Home Office crime data (quarterly). The current edition was computed on 2026-06-20, using HPI April 2026, PIPR May 2026, and crime data for the year ending December 2025. Broadband data (Ofcom Connected Nations) refreshes annually.
- Does GHG replace the Gera Liveability Score?
- No. The Gera Liveability Score (GLS) covers 130 English single-tier local authorities and incorporates five pillars: affordability, safety, schools, connectivity and healthcare. The GHG is a simpler 2-pillar index at the regional level (9 regions), designed to surface broad "opportunity" areas for renters who are flexible on location. Use the GLS for local-authority precision; use the GHG for a high-level region comparison.
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Contains public sector information published by HM Land Registry / ONS / Home Office / Ofcom and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: HM Land Registry UKHPI + ONS PIPR + Home Office crime + Ofcom Connected Nations (April 2026 (prices); May 2026 (rents); Year ending December 2025 (crime), published 17 June 2026).
Methodology: Gera Hidden Gem Score — formula, data sources, licence, worked example.