All Player Homes in Skyrim: How to Buy Every House

There are five city houses you can buy in Skyrim, three Hearthfire homesteads you build yourself, and a handful of free homes from Dawnguard, Dragonborn and the guilds. Breezehome in Whiterun is the cheapest at 5,000 gold, while Proudspire Manor in Solitude is the most expensive at 25,000. Below you’ll find every price, the quests that unlock each sale, upgrade costs, housecarls and a comparison table so you can choose the Skyrim houses that suit your playstyle.

Want to see where they all are first? Every home in this guide is marked on our interactive Skyrim map.

How buying a house in Skyrim works

Skyrim doesn’t just let any wandering stranger buy property. In every city you first have to earn the jarl’s trust, usually through a quest or two, and only then will the steward sell you a key. The house comes empty and dusty, and you buy furnishing “upgrades” room by room from the same steward. Most houses are also tied to a thane title: help enough citizens of the hold, own the local house, and the jarl names you thane and assigns you a housecarl who moves in and can follow you as a companion.

• Requirement: a jarl’s favour (quest), sometimes plus a reputation with locals.
• Seller: the jarl’s steward, who also sells the upgrades.
• Thane title: usually requires owning the house and helping several citizens.
• Housecarl: assigned when you become thane; lives in the house.
• Children: with Hearthfire, every city home can get a children’s bedroom so you can adopt.

Breezehome (Whiterun) – 5,000 gold

Breezehome is the first house most players own. It sits right next to Warmaiden’s by the main gate of Whiterun, and it becomes available very early: once you return from Bleak Falls Barrow with the Dragonstone, Jarl Balgruuf lets you buy property. Pay 5,000 gold to Proventus Avenicci (or Brill if the Stormcloaks have taken the city). Upgrades are bought from the steward in the dining room of Dragonsreach.

• Living Room 250, Dining Room 250, Kitchen 300, Loft 200, Bedroom 300
• Alchemy Laboratory 500
• Children’s Bedroom 500 (Hearthfire) – replaces the alchemy lab
• All upgrades: 1,800 gold

Housecarl: Lydia, given to you when Balgruuf makes you thane after Dragon Rising. If you sided with the Stormcloaks and Vignar Gray-Mane took the throne, you have to earn it again through Thane of Whiterun: help five citizens and own Breezehome. The house has no enchanter, no mannequin and no forge, but the Skyforge and Warmaiden’s are a short stroll away, which is why smiths love it.

Honeyside (Riften) – 8,000 gold

Honeyside is the only house in Riften, tucked into the north-west corner of town. Its party trick is a back door that opens onto a porch and dock outside the city walls, so you can come and go without passing a single guard. To buy it you first prove yourself to the jarl via the Skooma Trade task (it starts with Wujeeta at the fishery), then help a few locals until the jarl is happy. Steward Anuriel sells the house; the listed price is 8,000, but she takes everything you carry up to 8,000 as long as you have at least 5,000.

• Porch 400 (tanning rack, fishing boat, barrels)
• Kitchen 500, Bedroom 600, Garden 800
• Alchemy Laboratory 1,000 and Enchanting Laboratory 1,000 (both in the basement)
• Children’s Bedroom (Hearthfire) 250, or 550 if converting the enchanting lab

Housecarl: Iona, once you’re Thane of the Rift. Thieves get extra value here: members of the Thieves Guild receive a refilling thief cache in the garden, and the Ragged Flagon is a short walk away. Tip: hand surplus gold to a follower before buying to pay only 5,000.

Vlindrel Hall (Markarth) – 8,000 gold

Vlindrel Hall is carved into the cliffs at the top of Markarth, next to Understone Keep. To unlock it, do favours for Jarl Igmund: kill a Forsworn leader for him and recover Hrolfdir’s Shield (that task only appears from level 20). If Thongvor Silver-Blood ends up as jarl instead, the civil war route opens the sale. Base price is 8,000 gold; all decorations bring the total to 12,200.

• Entrance 500 (planters with ingredients)
• Bedroom 800, Living Room 900
• Enchanting Area 1,000 (enchanter, mannequin, racks)
• Alchemy Lab 1,000
• Children’s Room (Hearthfire) 700 – converts the alchemy lab

Housecarl: Argis the Bulwark, earned through Thane of the Reach by helping five citizens and owning the house. It’s the only home on a single level and holds 162 books across three big shelves, which makes it a lovely library. The forge is across town, though, and the Dwemer gloom never quite lifts.

Hjerim (Windhelm) – 12,000 gold

Hjerim is a two-storey house in the Valunstrad quarter of Windhelm. It used to belong to a victim of the Butcher, and the killer left a grim secret room behind a wardrobe, which ties it to Blood on the Ice. You can buy it only once the civil war has moved on: Stormcloak players need Rescue from Fort Neugrad, while Imperial players have to capture Windhelm. Buy it from Jorleif (or the Imperial-installed steward) for 12,000 gold.

• Clean up the murderer’s mess 500 (buy first – it replaces the containers)
• Armory 2,000 (mannequins, display cases, weapon racks)
• Enchanting laboratory 1,500, Alchemy laboratory 1,500
• Living room 1,500, Bedroom 1,000, Kitchen 1,000
• Children’s room (Hearthfire) 1,250 – no station lost

Housecarl: Calder, via Thane of Eastmarch. Hjerim has the biggest armory of any base-game house, and a blacksmith, smelter and fence are all just outside. Finish Blood on the Ice before buying decorations to avoid odd behaviour.

Proudspire Manor (Solitude) – 25,000 gold

Proudspire Manor is the priciest house in Skyrim, standing near the Bards College in Solitude. The path to it runs through two jobs: investigate the lights at Wolfskull Cave in The Man Who Cried Wolf for steward Falk Firebeard, then place Torygg’s war horn on a Shrine of Talos for Elisif the Fair. After that Falk sells you the manor for 25,000 gold. With every upgrade it comes to 36,000, or 39,000 with the Hearthfire children’s room.

• Bedroom 2,000, Living Room 2,000
• Alchemy Lab 2,500, Enchanting Lab 2,500 (with two mannequins)
• Kitchen 1,500, Patio 500
• Children’s Room (Hearthfire) 3,000 – no other room sacrificed

Housecarl: Jordis the Sword-Maiden, through Thane of Haafingar. You get alchemy and enchanting under one roof, a patio with a sea view and 12 bookshelves, but no smelter. It’s a mansion for people who have already finished worrying about money.

Hearthfire homesteads: Lakeview, Windstad and Heljarchen

The Hearthfire add-on (included in the Special and Anniversary Editions) lets you buy a plot of land and build a manor from the ground up. You buy the deed from a jarl’s steward for 5,000 gold, then construct everything at a Drafting Table and Carpenter’s Workbench using sawn logs, quarried stone, clay and lots of iron nails. Each plot has the same layout options, but the surroundings and the hold’s housecarl differ.

Lakeview Manor (Falkreath Hold)

Lakeview Manor lies on the south shore of Lake Ilinalta, east of Falkreath. Buy the land for 5,000 gold from steward Nenya in the Jarl’s Longhouse after doing tasks for Jarl Siddgeir (he wants Black-Briar Mead and a bandit leader dead; with Hearthfire he may even invite you by letter). Thane of Falkreath needs only three helped citizens. Housecarl: Rayya, who patrols the property. Lakeview is also the plot with an apiary nearby, handy for honeycomb.

Windstad Manor (Hjaalmarch)

Windstad Manor sits near the mouths of the Karth River, north of Morthal, among the salt marshes. Start by investigating the burned house in Laid to Rest, then speak to steward Aslfur, who sells the land for 5,000 gold. You don’t actually need to finish helping three citizens first if the land is all you’re after. Housecarl: Valdimar from Highmoon Hall, the only magic-using housecarl, awarded through Thane of Hjaalmarch. Windstad can have a fish hatchery, and expect plenty of horkers on the shoreline.

Heljarchen Hall (The Pale)

Heljarchen Hall stands on the snowy tundra south of Fort Dunstad, near Giant’s Gap. Skald the Elder (or Brina Merilis after the civil war) offers the deed once you’ve completed Waking Nightmare and the Kill the Giant task, which only appears from level 22. Housecarl: Gregor, who otherwise waits at the White Hall in Dawnstar, via Thane of the Pale. This plot is the one where you can build a grain mill to turn wheat into flour (three wheat per sack).

Building order and steward costs

• 1. Small House – 17 sawn logs, 14 quarried stone, 30 nails, 4 clay, iron fittings, a lock and two hinges. It later becomes the entryway.
• 2. Main Hall – two floors and the gateway to three wings.
• 3. Three wings – one choice per wing (nine options in total), such as the Bedrooms, Greenhouse, Enchanter’s Tower, Alchemy Laboratory, Armory, Kitchen, Library, Storage Room or Trophy Room.

Once the small house is up, you can appoint a steward – a qualified follower or housecarl such as Lydia, Iona or Calder. The steward can buy building materials, arrange extras like livestock or a carriage driver, and furnish rooms for a flat fee: about 1,000 for the small house, 3,500 for the main hall and 1,500 to 2,500 per wing (for example 2,000 for the Armory and 2,500 for the Enchanter’s Tower). Paying is far pricier than crafting, but crafting the nails and fittings yourself is free Smithing experience. Note that the steward refuses to furnish the cellar – that one’s your private project.

Severin Manor (Raven Rock, Dragonborn) – free

Severin Manor is the only home on Solstheim and costs nothing. It belongs to the Severin family at first, but after you finish Served Cold, Lleril Morvayn hands you the key. It comes fully furnished: a complete smithing workshop with smelter, workbench, grindstone and tanning rack, an alchemy lab, an arcane enchanter, a small ash yam and scathecraw garden, four mannequins and three display cases. There’s no housecarl or steward, and the lighting downstairs is famously gloomy. Still, you get the best crafting setup on the island in Raven Rock for the price of one revenge quest.

Dawnguard homes: Fort Dawnguard and Castle Volkihar

In the Dawnguard questline you pick a side after Bloodline, and the faction’s stronghold becomes your base. Neither can be bought, and neither has a housecarl, but both are packed with crafting stations.

• Fort Dawnguard (the Rift, through Dayspring Canyon): arcane enchanter, alchemy lab, forge, grindstone, workbench, smelter and tanning rack. The forge, enchanter and lab open up after A New Order and Bolstering the Ranks. Isran‘s room gains a mannequin as the story progresses, and the fort has master trainers for Smithing, Archery, Restoration and Heavy Armor.
• Castle Volkihar (island in the Sea of Ghosts): home of Harkon and the Volkihar Clan. Feran’s Laboratory has an alchemy lab and enchanter, the smithy has a forge, workbench, grindstone and tanning rack (no smelter), and the coffins give a vampire rested bonus. Serana‘s room gets its own enchanter and lab after The Bloodstone Chalice. Store items in wardrobes and bookcases, since loose items reset.

Other free places to sleep and store loot

• Dark Brotherhood sanctuaries: the Falkreath sanctuary is home until Death Incarnate. After that the Dark Brotherhood moves to Dawnstar Sanctuary, where Delvin Mallory sells upgrades worth 19,000 gold in total: a master bedroom with mannequin, torture chamber, secret entrance and an alchemy lab with poison garden.
• The Cistern: the Thieves Guild headquarters under Riften, reached through the Ratway and the Ragged Flagon. The Cistern gives guild members beds and a safe place to hang around among fellow thieves.
• Inns: not a home, but a room at places like the Sleeping Giant Inn or the Bannered Mare gets you a bed for the night. Don’t leave valuables in random inn containers.

Skyrim houses compared

Prices are base prices before upgrades. “Upgrade” means the feature must be bought or built first; a dash means our sources don’t list one.

Home	Location	Price	Alchemy	Enchanter	Smithing	Garden	Mannequins	Display cases
Breezehome	Whiterun	5,000	Upgrade	No	No	No	No	–
Honeyside	Riften	8,000 (min 5,000)	Upgrade	Upgrade	Tanning rack only	Upgrade	2	–
Vlindrel Hall	Markarth	8,000	Upgrade	Upgrade	No	Planters	1	Yes
Hjerim	Windhelm	12,000	Upgrade	Upgrade	No	No	Yes (Armory)	Yes (Armory)
Proudspire Manor	Solitude	25,000	Upgrade	Upgrade	No	No	2	–
Lakeview Manor	Falkreath Hold	5,000 land	Wing	Wing	Armory wing	Greenhouse	Armory wing	Yes
Windstad Manor	Hjaalmarch	5,000 land	Wing	Wing	Armory wing	Greenhouse	Armory wing	Yes
Heljarchen Hall	The Pale	5,000 land	Wing	Wing	Armory wing	Greenhouse	Armory wing	Yes
Severin Manor	Raven Rock	Free	Yes	Yes	Full, incl. smelter	Yes	4	3
Fort Dawnguard	The Rift	Free	Yes	Yes	Full, incl. smelter	No	1	–
Castle Volkihar	Sea of Ghosts	Free	Yes	Yes	Forge, no smelter	No	–	–
Dawnstar Sanctuary	The Pale	Free (19,000 upgrades)	Upgrade	–	–	Poison garden	1 (upgrade)	–

Which home should you buy first?

• Early game: Breezehome. It’s cheap, central and comes with Lydia.
• Enchanters and alchemists on a budget: Honeyside or Vlindrel Hall – both stations for about 10,000 gold all in.
• Collectors: Hjerim’s armory or Severin Manor’s four mannequins.
• Families and builders: a Hearthfire homestead, where you choose every wing and can house a spouse, kids and a steward.
• Everything at once, for free: Severin Manor, if you own Dragonborn.

Gold running short? Our alchemy lab guide helps you brew valuable potions to sell, and the console commands page covers PC shortcuts if you just want to test a layout.

FAQ

How many houses can you own in Skyrim?

Five purchasable city houses, three Hearthfire homesteads and Severin Manor from Dragonborn – nine proper homes – plus free bases like Fort Dawnguard or Castle Volkihar and the guild headquarters.

What is the cheapest house in Skyrim?

Breezehome at 5,000 gold. Honeyside can also cost 5,000 if you carry only that much when buying, and each Hearthfire plot costs 5,000 before materials. Severin Manor is free.

Do you need to be thane to buy a house?

No. You need the jarl’s permission, which usually comes from a quest, but the thane title normally comes after: owning the house is one of the requirements for becoming thane, and the housecarl arrives with the title.

Which Skyrim house has the most crafting stations?

Severin Manor has alchemy, enchanting and a full smithing set with smelter out of the box. Among bought homes, a Hearthfire homestead with the Alchemy Laboratory, Enchanter’s Tower and Armory wings covers the most.

Can my spouse live in any house?

After the wedding your spouse asks where to live and you can pick any house you own (or theirs). You can move them later, and with Hearthfire any adopted children move in with you too.

Checked against the Skyrim game files and community wiki articles, written in our own words.