Stockton house sells for less than a year of tuition fees

A house in Port Clarence, just 25 miles from Durham, has sold for £14,000 at auction – £2,100 less than an international science undergraduate pays in tuition fees per year at Durham.

Bidding for the three-bedroom house (including a front and back garden) started at just £750, with no reserve price.

‘Britain’s cheapest house’ in Stockton

A similarly sized house in Chelsea would cost on average around 130 times more than this dilapidated box. It is reported that the agents selling the house even considered throwing in another house on the same street in a buy-one-get-one-free deal.

Unlike Chelsea, Port Clarence, in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, suffers from very high crime and unemployment rates. Arson, fly tipping, and other anti-social behaviour are common in the area, added to which transport links with nearby towns are very poor.

The house has had all its electrical wiring and plumbing stolen by vandals, and is in need of major building works.

It is no wonder then that 25% of the houses on the street are empty, according to data realised by Stockton Council. A MailOnline user succinctly summed up the house and area as “Grimville”.