Skyrim Guide - How to Buy a House

Skyrim's a big place, and it doesn't hurt to have a base of operations. Heck, it doesn't hurt to have several bases of operations. In this guide, we'll walk you through buying a house in Skyrim.

Skyrim Special Edition has no shortage of homes for you to choose, and thankfully moving in is simpler than pulling up stakes in real life.

How to Buy a House in Skyrim

There are many good reasons to own real estate in Skyrim:

• Sleeping in a house you own gives you the Well Rested bonus, which grants you 10% more experience for eight in-game hours.
• If you're married and sleep in the same building as your spouse, you'll earn the "Lover's Comfort" bonus. This grants you 15% more experience for eight hours. You won't gain these bonuses if you're afflicted with lycanthropy (werewolf-ism), however.
• If you have a taste for alchemy, you can buy an Alchemy Lab for your house (in most cases).
• You can place containers (treasure chests, cupboards, wardrobes, etc) in your house, which you can use to store stuff you'd rather not lug around. Containers placed in your house are "safe," meaning the contents will never be shifted or reset (by contrast, stuff stored in containers outside your house may go missing).
• Your spouse and family can live in your houses, and move around to different houses if you ask them to.

Since homes are in or near cities, you'll the respective Jarls' clearance before you're allowed to buy. You're also required to complete certain quests and / or be at a certain point in the game's storyline. >In some cases, a home's price can vary. The cost scales upwards according to how much gold you have on-hand.

Breezehome is almost certainly the first home you'll own, and one of the most useful since Whiterun is one of Skyrim's major hubs. Ask Proventus Avenicci, the Jarl's right-hand man, for permission to buy it once you finish the Bleak Falls Barrow quest.

Honeyside in Riften (Cost: 5000 to 8000 gold to buy, 4300 to upgrade)
Honeyside is also an affordable bit of property, provided you don't go flashing tons of gold before you ask to make your purchase. You can equip Honeyside with an enchanting table, which Whiterun lacks. To buy Honeyside, talk to the steward of Riften's Jarl, Anuriel, after completing The Raid / Skooma Trade quests.

Hjerim in Windhelm (Cost: 8000 to 12000 gold to buy, 9000 gold to upgrade)
Magic-users will make good use of Hjerim, which has an Arcane Enhancer and can be upgraded to include an Alchemy lab. It's also close to smithing-related amenities. To buy Hjerim, complete the Blood on the Ice quest along with either The Battle for Fort Sungard quest, or the Imperial Legion questline.

Proudspire Manor in Solitude (25000 gold to buy, 11000 gold to upgrade)
Proudspire Manor is the costliest of all of Skyrim's houses. You may choose to pass it up as a result, but you need to own it in order to completely finish the No Stone Unturned quest. If you have some cash burning a hole in your britches, purchase the Manor after completing The Man Who Cried Wolf quest, the Elisif's Tribute quest, and then talk to Solitude's Jarl.

Vlindrel Hall in Markarth (8000 gold to purchase, 4100 gold to upgrade)
Vlindrel Hall is affordable, and it offers several big bookshelves – a boon for book collectors. It also has an Arcane Enchanter and acquires an Alchemy Lab when upgraded. To start building your own library, complete the Recover Hrolfdir's Shield quest and talk to Raerek, the steward of Markarth's Jarl.

Severin Manor in Raven Rock (Free upon completion of quest)
There's nothing wrong with Severin Manor's price tag. It's also a large living space that contains several amenities. Good stuff. You automatically become the owner of Severin Manor when you finish the Served Cold quest.

Now that we're done with our complete Skyrim house guide, go ahead and check out our picks for the best Skyrim mods on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One! We've also got a how to get Zelda items in Skyrim Switch guide.