South West — Gera Hidden Gem Score
Rank 3 of 9 English regions · April 2026 prices · May 2026 rents · Year ending December 2025 crime
Is South West a good-value place to rent in 2026, and what is its Gera Hidden Gem Score?
South West scores 4.3/10 on the Gera Hidden Gem Score — rank 3 of 9 English regions — with an average house price of £302,618 (HM Land Registry UKHPI, April 2026), average monthly rent of £1,234 (ONS PIPR, May 2026), and a population-weighted recorded-crime rate of 73.2 per 1,000 residents (Home Office, Year ending December 2025).
Key figures — South West
| Metric | South West | England avg | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gera Hidden Gem Score (GHG) | 4.3/10 | — | Gera (computed) |
| GHG rank | 3 / 9 | — | Gera (computed) |
| Avg house price | £302,618 | £291,445 | HM Land Registry UKHPI (April 2026) |
| 12m price change | +3.5% | +3.9% | HM Land Registry UKHPI (April 2026) |
| Avg monthly rent | £1,234 | £1,383 | ONS PIPR (May 2026) |
| Rent annual change | +5.1% | — | ONS PIPR (May 2026) |
| Crime rate (per 1,000) | 73.2 | 83.4 | Home Office PFA (Year ending December 2025) |
| Crime rank (1=safest) | 3 / 9 | — | Gera (computed from Home Office) |
| Broadband index (GBI) | 77.6/100 | 77.6/100 | Ofcom Connected Nations (July 2024) |
Personalise your regional ranking
See how South West compares when you weight price and safety according to your own 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.
Nearby regions in the GHG ranking
Frequently asked questions
- What does the South West GHG score of 4.3/10 mean?
- A GHG of 4.3/10 means South West ranks 3rd of 9 English regions on the joint measure of affordable house prices and low recorded crime. The score is computed as 10 × (1 − price_pct) × (1 − crime_rank/9). South West's price_pct is 0.358 (normalised against North East min £163,190 and London max £552,655) and its crime rank is 3 (73.2 offences/1,000 residents).
- What is the average house price in South West?
- The average house price in South West is £302,618, a 3.5% increase over the 12 months to April 2026. Source: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index (UKHPI), April 2026. The England average is £291,445.
- What is the average private rent in South West?
- The average monthly private rent in South West is £1,234, up 5.1% year-on-year as of May 2026. Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR), edition 17 June 2026. The UK average is £1,383/month.
- What is the crime rate in South West?
- The population-weighted recorded-crime rate in South West is 73.2 offences per 1,000 residents (year ending December 2025). This is computed from Home Office Police Force Area (PFA) data — all PFAs whose territory falls within South West — weighted by ONS mid-2024 PFA population estimates. This gives South West a crime rank of 3 out of 9 English regions (1 = lowest crime). Rates exclude fraud and British Transport Police.
- How does South West compare to the rest of England?
- South West ranks 3 of 9 English regions on the GHG. Nearby in the ranking: East of England (GHG 4.9, rank 1); East Midlands (GHG 4.4, rank 2); South East (GHG 3.5, rank 4).
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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).
Gera Hidden Gem Score methodology · Data updated , refreshed quarterly as source datasets update.