To buy a house in Skyrim, earn permission from the Jarl of one of the five major cities, usually by finishing a quest or a set of favors for them, then pay the Jarl’s steward. The cheapest and earliest is Breezehome in Whiterun: finish the Bleak Falls Barrow quest for Jarl Balgruuf and Proventus Avenicci will sell it to you for 5,000 gold.
This guide covers Skyrim Special Edition and Anniversary Edition on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Below we list every city house with its price and unlock requirement, explain how upgrades work, cover the homes you can get outside the cities, and help you pick your first one.
How Buying a House Works
Every city house follows the same pattern:
- Win the Jarl’s favor by completing the tasks listed below.
- Talk to the steward (E on PC, A on Xbox, Cross on PlayStation, A on Switch) and ask about buying the house. You pay the full price up front.
- Collect the key and the home decorating guide. The steward hands you a book listing every upgrade for that house.
- Buy upgrades from the same steward. Each room, such as a bedroom, kitchen or alchemy lab, is bought separately, and the furniture appears in your home.
Owning a house in a hold is usually one of the steps to becoming its thane, and becoming thane brings you a housecarl who moves in with you. There is no limit on how many houses you can own.
Every City House, Its Price and How to Unlock It
Prices and requirements below come from the community wiki:
- Breezehome (Whiterun): 5,000 gold. Complete Bleak Falls Barrow for Jarl Balgruuf, then buy from Proventus Avenicci. Upgrades add 1,550 to 1,800 gold. Housecarl: Lydia. Proventus only sells upgrades while he is inside Dragonsreach.
- Honeyside (Riften): 8,000 gold. Help Wujeeta at the Riften Fishery, which leads to tasks for Jarl Laila Law-Giver, and do a few favors for Riften’s citizens. Buy from the steward, Anuriel. Housecarl: Iona. Honeyside has a back door onto the docks outside the city walls.
- Vlindrel Hall (Markarth): 8,000 gold. Complete the Jarl’s tasks for Thane of the Reach; with Jarl Igmund in charge, the community wiki says the second task requires level 20. Housecarl: Argis the Bulwark.
- Hjerim (Windhelm): 12,000 gold. The only house tied to the Civil War. Stormcloaks must complete Rescue from Fort Neugrad; Imperials must defeat the Stormcloaks first. Buy from the Windhelm steward. You also have to finish Blood on the Ice before you can decorate it. Housecarl: Calder.
- Proudspire Manor (Solitude): 25,000 gold. Complete The Man Who Cried Wolf and Elisif’s Tribute, then buy from Falk Firebeard. Upgrades add another 11,000 to 14,000 gold. Housecarl: Jordis the Sword-Maiden.
One money-saving quirk: per the community wiki, the unpatched game sets the minimum price for Honeyside at 5,000 gold and for Hjerim at 8,000. If you carry less than the full price but at least that minimum, the steward takes whatever you have. The Unofficial Patch mods remove this quirk, so check your load order (our best Skyrim mods list covers that patch) if you are counting on it.
Houses Outside the Five Cities
The city homes are not your only option:
- Hearthfire homesteads. Lakeview Manor, Windstad Manor and Heljarchen Hall are plots of land you buy for 5,000 gold each and then build yourself. Our guide to building a house in Skyrim covers the whole process.
- Severin Manor (Dragonborn). Per the community wiki, Councilor Morvayn in Raven Rock gives it to you as a reward for the quest Served Cold. It comes with crafting stations, but spouses and children cannot move to Solstheim.
- Anniversary Edition homes. The Anniversary Edition bundles dozens of Creations, several of them houses. Per the community wiki, Tundra Homestead just outside Whiterun is sold by the Whiterun steward for 7,500 gold, and Shadowfoot Sanctum under Riften costs 7,500 from Vekel the Man. Others, such as Hendraheim, Myrwatch and Bloodchill Manor, are earned by finishing their quests.
- Your spouse’s home. If you marry someone who owns a house, you can simply move in.
Which House to Buy First
For most characters, Breezehome is the right first purchase. It is the cheapest, it unlocks during the main quest, and it sits next to Whiterun’s blacksmith. It is also small, with no arcane enchanter.
After that, it depends on how you play:
- Want a family? A spouse can only move into a home you bought or built, not a free or faction home (see our guide to getting married in Skyrim). Every city house can add a child’s bedroom; Hjerim and Proudspire Manor do it without removing a crafting station, as our adoption guide explains.
- Collector or hoarder? Per the community wiki, Hjerim has the most storage, display cases and mannequins of the city homes.
- Sneaky character? Honeyside’s dock entrance lets you come and go without walking through Riften.
- Prestige? Proudspire Manor is the grandest address in Skyrim, but the community wiki notes it has little storage for the price.
If you played Oblivion, the logic is similar to choosing a home in Cyrodiil: location and crafting access matter more than size. Our Oblivion house guide compares those, and our Elder Scrolls guides hub collects every Skyrim guide we publish.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest house in Skyrim? Breezehome in Whiterun, at 5,000 gold. It is also the earliest, unlocking after the Bleak Falls Barrow quest.
Can you own every house in Skyrim? Yes. There is no limit on how many homes you own, so you can buy all five city houses, build all three Hearthfire homesteads and collect the rest.
How do you get a house for free? Severin Manor is a Dragonborn quest reward, several Anniversary Edition homes are earned through their quests, and marrying someone with a house lets you move into theirs.
Can you buy a house in Winterhold, Dawnstar, Falkreath or Morthal? Not inside those towns. Falkreath, Hjaalmarch (Morthal) and the Pale (Dawnstar) each have a Hearthfire plot you can build on instead; Winterhold has none.
Does buying a house make you a thane? It is one of the steps in several holds, including Riften and Solitude, but thane titles usually also require quests or favors for the Jarl and their people.