Photo: Roger A Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Homes in Barnstaple sold for a median £252,625
That is the middle of 1,314 standard sales from September 2023 to August 2026, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. Barnstaple grades C for cost of living: prices, rent and council tax against what households in the area earn, #26 of 47 in Devon.
What Barnstaple’s housing numbers say
Prices have stood still since 2024
The median sale reached £270,000 in the year to August 2023 and was £247,500 in the year to August 2026. Over ten years the median sale in Barnstaple went up 38%; in the typical UK town it went up 42%. Since 1995–96 prices have gone up 5.4 times, from £46,000. Price trend ↓
A wide spread inside one town
The median sale in Roundswell ward was £320,000; in Barnstaple Central it was £176,250. Where in Barnstaple ↓
Rents fell while England’s rose
The average rent in the North Devon council area went down 0.3% in the year to August 2026, against 4% across England. Over five years it rose 26% (England 35%). Renting ↓
Written from the data on this page: HM Land Registry sales since 1995, ONS private rents and household income, and council tax from MHCLG and the Welsh Government.
Barnstaple grades C for cost of living
Each cost against what households in the North Devon council area earn (£47,337 a year, mean), ranked against UK towns.
Council tax pulls the grade down: against local incomes it costs more than in 92% of UK towns. Rent helps it: cheaper for local incomes than in 61% of UK towns. Barnstaple is #26 of 47 Devon towns for cost of living.
Flat for three years, and up 38% in ten
The median of every standard sale in Barnstaple each year (September to August), against the typical UK town of 2,500+ (the middle of all their medians). Ten years: Barnstaple +38%, typical town +42%. Five years: +1% against +11%.
Show as a table
| Year to August | Barnstaple | Typical town | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | £247,500 | £277,000 | 369 |
| 2024–25 | £255,000 | £280,000 | 489 |
| 2023–24 | £253,000 | £275,000 | 456 |
| 2022–23 | £270,000 | £280,000 | 511 |
| 2021–22 | £252,500 | £265,000 | 663 |
| 2020–21 | £245,000 | £250,000 | 812 |
| 2019–20 | £228,750 | £230,000 | 500 |
| 2018–19 | £214,000 | £225,000 | 548 |
| 2017–18 | £210,000 | £219,950 | 608 |
| 2016–17 | £200,000 | £210,000 | 598 |
| 2015–16 | £180,000 | £195,000 | 558 |
| 2014–15 | £176,500 | £183,500 | 507 |
| 2013–14 | £172,000 | £173,500 | 530 |
| 2012–13 | £165,000 | £165,000 | 436 |
| 2011–12 | £164,500 | £162,500 | 419 |
| 2010–11 | £160,000 | £163,250 | 366 |
| 2009–10 | £165,000 | £163,975 | 465 |
| 2008–09 | £165,000 | £155,000 | 317 |
| 2007–08 | £175,500 | £172,625 | 559 |
| 2006–07 | £171,500 | £169,000 | 769 |
| 2005–06 | £162,500 | £159,000 | 746 |
| 2004–05 | £157,000 | £154,000 | 508 |
| 2003–04 | £139,250 | £141,250 | 580 |
| 2002–03 | £116,997 | £122,000 | 598 |
| 2001–02 | £90,500 | £94,950 | 889 |
| 2000–01 | £76,500 | £80,000 | 819 |
| 1999–00 | £67,500 | £71,000 | 891 |
| 1998–99 | £57,500 | £63,500 | 761 |
| 1997–98 | £51,125 | £59,437 | 734 |
| 1996–97 | £47,950 | £55,747 | 753 |
| 1995–96 | £46,000 | £52,000 | 589 |
The median Barnstaple home sold for £180K in the year to August 2016, and £248K in the year to August 2026.
HM Land Registry Price Paid, standard (category A) sales of houses and flats inside the built-up area, by the year to August. These are actual sale prices, not an index: a year with more flats or new builds moves the median as well as prices do. The newest months are still being registered.
What homes sell for, by type
Medians of 1,314 standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026. The tick on each bar is the typical UK town of 2,500+.
Against the typical UK town, detached houses here sell for 10% less and flats 7% less.
Show as a table
| Type | Median | Sales | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £350,000 | 372 | 28% |
| Semi-detached | £265,000 | 302 | 23% |
| Terraced | £215,000 | 471 | 36% |
| Flat or maisonette | £147,500 | 169 | 13% |
HM Land Registry Price Paid: category A sales (one home at full market value), so repossessions, company buy-to-lets and bulk sales are left out. In the last 12 months the median was £247,500 (369 sales).
Cheapest in Barnstaple Central; dearest in Roundswell
Median sale by council ward (the part of each ward inside Barnstaple’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Terraced medians compare like with like.
| Ward | Median | Terraced | Flats | Sales | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnstaple Central | £176,250 | £190,000 | 28% | 98 | |
| Barnstaple with Westacott | £210,000 | £195,000 | 15% | 236 | |
| Barnstaple with Pilton | £242,500 | £230,000 | 18% | 308 | |
| Newport | £247,250 | £210,000 | 8% | 192 | |
| Bickington | £289,000 | £230,000 | 2% | 238 | |
| Roundswell | £320,000 | £285,000 | 13% | 237 |
Detached houses are 46% of sales in Roundswell, the dearest ward.
By postcode district (median, sales): EX31 £288K (704) · EX32 £220K (610). Wards are the 2022 council wards; wards with fewer than 30 sales are left out. Bickington here is Barnstaple’s ward of that name; the town is under Neighbours.
About 490 sales a year, down from 890 before 2008
Standard sales in Barnstaple each year to August. Since the 2008 crash the market here has run at about 50% of its mid-2000s pace. Sales jumped in 2020–21, when stamp duty was cut.
The last bar (369 sales) is still filling: Land Registry adds a sale when the transfer is registered, often two to three months after completion.
A typical Barnstaple home costs 5.3 years of area income
Most lenders cap a mortgage at about 4.5 times household income. The calculator starts from the area’s mean household income; switch to your own.
An estimate, not a mortgage offer: borrowing of up to 4.5× income, a 25-year repayment mortgage at the rate shown, and Band D council tax (your band may differ). Stamp duty uses England’s rates from 1 April 2025, with first-time buyers’ relief. Other debts, fees and survey costs aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about £778 a month
The average private rent in the North Devon council area is £846 a month (August 2026): £613 less than England’s, £399 less than South West’s.
By size a month, the tick is England
ONS Price Index of Private Rents: the mean rent of all private tenancies, new and existing (not asking rents), for the whole North Devon council area. It’s the smallest area the ONS publishes.
Band D is £2,733 for 2026–27; North Devon council’s average is the 4th highest of Devon’s 10
Barnstaple’s bill is the North Devon council’s share with the county or combined authority, police and fire shares, plus the parish or town council precept of about £205 a year. England’s average Band D is £2,392. Since 1993–94, North Devon’s average Band D has risen from £537: 392% in 33 years.
Average Band D 2026–27, by council
| Band value in 1991 | A year | A month |
|---|---|---|
| Band A up to £40,000 | £1,822 | £182 |
| Band B £40,001–52,000 | £2,125 | £213 |
| Band C £52,001–68,000 | £2,429 | £243 |
| Band D £68,001–88,000 | £2,733 | £273 |
| Band E £88,001–120,000 | £3,340 | £334 |
| Band F £120,001–160,000 | £3,947 | £395 |
| Band G £160,001–320,000 | £4,554 | £455 |
| Band H over £320,000 | £5,465 | £547 |
Your band comes from what your home would have sold for in April 1991, set by the Valuation Office Agency; look it up on GOV.UK. Each band pays a fixed fraction of Band D, from six ninths (A) to two (H). Living alone takes 25% off.
60% of households own their home; 21% rent privately
Census 2021, all households. Fewer households own outright than across Devon’s towns (34% against 38%).
Devon and England: all residents of their built-up areas (towns and cities), from the same Census 2021 output areas.
139th of 237 UK towns its size for what a home costs against income
Median sale price ÷ the area’s mean household income, cheapest first, for UK towns of 22,000 to 42,000 people: the towns either side of Barnstaple, and others in Devon.
| # | Town | Median home | ÷ income | Rent | Band D | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelson Lancashire | £92K | 2.3× | £670 | £2,623 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 102 | Newton Abbot Devon | £250K | 4.8× | £961 | £2,699 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 136 | Denton Greater Manchester | £222K | 5.3× | £953 | £2,440 | D |
| 137 | Stretford Greater Manchester | £291K | 5.3× | £1,369 | £2,290 | C |
| 138 | Witham Essex | £315K | 5.3× | £1,213 | £2,333 | B |
| 139 | Barnstaple Devon | £253K | 5.3× | £846 | £2,733 | C |
| 140 | Beverley East Riding of Yorkshire | £260K | 5.3× | £724 | £2,438 | A− |
| 141 | Hedge End Hampshire | £340K | 5.3× | £1,214 | £2,352 | B+ |
| 142 | Royton Greater Manchester | £225K | 5.4× | £939 | £2,597 | D− |
| … | ||||||
| 184 | Exmouth Devon | £325K | 6.1× | £968 | £2,577 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 237 | Harpenden Hertfordshire | £775K | 9.7× | £1,931 | £2,472 | C− |
Rent and Band D are for each town’s main council area; Northern Ireland has no council tax (its towns pay domestic rates) and no council-area rents; Scotland’s rents are published for broad areas, not councils. Cost letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; this order is context only.
Braunton sells for £122K more than Barnstaple
Median sale, September 2023 to August 2026, for the built-up areas around Barnstaple, shaded against Barnstaple’s median. Five-year change where both years had 20+ sales.
| Town | Cost | Median | New | 5 yrs | Band D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnstaple | C | £253K | 4% | +1% | £2,733 |
| Bickington | D | £330K | 4% | +1.8% | £2,597 |
| Landkey | C− | £308K | 0% | +7.5% | £2,556 |
| Fremington | D | £330K | 13% | −6.1% | £2,597 |
| Chivenor and Wrafton | C− | £300K | 0% | +30% | £2,540 |
| Braunton | D | £375K | 0% | +12% | £2,649 |
| Appledore | D− | £363K | 25% | +1.9% | £2,618 |
| Northam | D− | £323K | 4% | +12% | £2,618 |
Braunton, 5.2 miles away, has the dearest homes nearby (£375,000). Places in the neighbouring council pay £114 less a year at Band D.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Sale prices aren’t valuations. A median is the middle sale, so a year with more flats or new builds moves it even if no home changed in value. The ONS House Price Index adjusts for the mix; it is published by council, not for Barnstaple’s built-up area.
- Rent is for the whole council. The ONS publishes private rents by council only, so the figure covers the whole North Devon council area, not just Barnstaple.
- Income is a mean. The grade divides costs by the ONS’s mean household income for the council area (£47,337), which a few high earners pull up; the median household’s is lower.
- The newest months are thin. Land Registry registers a sale weeks or months after completion, so the year to August 2026 will gain sales as registrations catch up.
Questions about living costs in Barnstaple
Is Barnstaple expensive to live in?
The median home in Barnstaple sold for £252,625 between September 2023 and August 2026, £24,375 less than the typical UK town. That is 5.3 times the area’s mean household income, cheaper for local incomes than in 55% of UK towns. The average private rent of £846 a month takes 21% of that income.
Are house prices falling in Barnstaple?
The median sale has been about £247,500 in each of the last three years to August, after peaking at £270,000 in the year to August 2023. Over five years prices held flat, and over ten went up 38%.
What are the cheapest areas to buy in Barnstaple?
By council ward, Barnstaple Central (£176,250), Barnstaple with Westacott (£210,000) and Barnstaple with Pilton (£242,500) had the lowest median sale prices in the three years to August 2026; Roundswell the highest (£320,000). Part of the difference is the mix of homes: wards with more flats sell for less.
How much is rent in Barnstaple?
The ONS puts the average private rent in the North Devon council area at £846 a month in August 2026: £589 for one bedroom, £778 for two, £965 for three and £1,331 for four or more. Rents held flat over the year, against 4% across England.
How much is council tax in Barnstaple?
Band D is £2,733 for 2026–27, against England’s average of £2,392. Band A is £1,822 and Band C £2,429. Your bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
How much do I need to earn to buy in Barnstaple?
With a 10% deposit and borrowing of 4.5 times income, a household needs about £50,500 a year to buy the median Barnstaple home of £252,625, or about £29,500 for the median flat (£147,500).
Sources: HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · HM Land Registry Price Paid, every standard sale since 1995 (years to August), by council ward and postcode district · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents, monthly since January 2015 (councils, regions, England and Wales) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · MHCLG Band D council tax by council, 1993–94 to 2026–27; Welsh Government council tax levels 2026–27 · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.