Houses (Skyrim)

Houses are defined as buildings in which the player may sleep and safely store items in non-respawning containers.

A house is available for purchase within most of the major cities, however permission must be obtained from the city's Jarl. There are also a number of other properties throughout Skyrim that can be used as a home.

There is no limit to how many homes the Dragonborn may own. If the player is married, the player's spouse can live in any of the player's homes. If the Dragonborn's spouse owns a house, the Dragonborn may also move into their home, even if the player doesn't own a house yet themself.

Benefits of owning a house

 * 1) Sleeping in a the player's owned house grants the Well Rested bonus. If the player sleeps in a house where thier spouse also lives, the player will receive the bonus Lover's Comfort. However, under the effects of the Lycanthropy affliction or the having the Lover Stone active, the player cannot gain either of these bonuses.
 * 2) Containers in an owned house do not respawn, so the player may safely store items inside any of its barrels, wardrobes and chests. It is recommended that nothing be stored at the house in Solitude because of glitched chests, weapon racks, and mannequins, specifically (XBox 360) the right-most slot in the weaponrack at the bottom of the stairs. (XBox 360) Additionally, the dagger racks in the Hjerim bedroom are glitched to disallow the player from recovering stored daggers.
 * 3) Decorations can be bought for a owned house from the city's steward. Every house's kitchen includes a cooking pot or spit. The player may also purchase an Alchemy Lab for every house. Arcane Enchanters are available for every house except Breezehome in Whiterun.

List of purchasable houses
† House may still be purchased as long as the player has a smaller amount of gold on hand. The cost will be all your gold up to the larger amount of gold.

The prices listed above are the initial costs for each house. This does not included the optional upgrades available for purchase. Refer to the relevant house article for further details.

Breezehome
Breezehome, in Whiterun, is inexpensive and easily acquired early in the game, but it is the only home that lacks an enchanting table. In order to enchant in Whiterun, the player must exit Breezehome (1 transition), head to Dragonsreach, then enter (another transition) and walk up the steps to the enchanting table. For members of the Thieves Guild, the fence in Whiterun is located outside of the city entirely, at Honningbrew Meadery, requiring fast-travel and extra transitions anytime the player wishes to move stolen goods.

Honeyside
Honeyside, in Riften, is similarly inexpensive and can be acquired early in the game. Unlike Breezehome, it can be equipped with an enchanting table. However, Riften is the only major city without a Smelter. The player must travel to the village of Shor's Stone to find one. Additionally, the Thieves Guild fence, Tonilia, is located in the Ragged Flagon, which requires a significant trip (with at least three transitions) to reach from the home.

Vlindrel Hall
Vlindrel Hall, in Markarth, has both an alchemy table and enchanting table in the home. Smithing amenities are available, including a Smelter, but are located across town. The fence in Markarth is located nearby, but requires a transition to reach. Vlindrel Hall has the disadvantage of being relatively poorly laid-out and organized, with fewer storage and organization options than the other "higher-end" homes. Vlindrel Hall is a good choice for book collectors as it provides the most book storage (162 books) thanks to three large bookshelves conveniently located next to each other (instead of scattered smaller shelves such as in Hjerim).

Hjerim
Hjerim, in Windhelm, is the largest and arguably best-organized home, with superior storage options. It contains both an Arcane Enchanter and an Alchemy Lab (once upgraded), is in close proximity to Smithing amenities, a Smelter, and the Windhelm fence, all of which are closely grouped with zero transitions. Niranye, the Windhelm fence, is located outside in a market stall, whereas every other fences require at least one additional transition to reach. Also, Hjerim takes some of the most work to aquire, because the buggy quest "Blood on the Ice" and part of the Civil War questline must be finished before purchasing the house.

Proudspire Manor
Proudspire Manor, in Solitude, is by far the most expensive home in the game. While it has both an alchemy table and an enchanting table, it is smaller and offers fewer storage options than Hjerim. Additionally, Proudspire Manor was notoriously glitched up until the 1.4 patch, however, it is untested as to if it is still glitched. Solitude itself offers excellent amenities, however, including the widest selection of shopkeepers in the game. The Solitude fence is located nearby, but will require a transition to reach.

Conclusion
Hjerim can only be acquired upon progressing to a certain point in the Civil War questline while Vlindrel Hall cannot be acquired until at least level 20 and Proudspire is prohibitively expensive for most low-level players. Breezehome and Honeyside are smaller, and each less convenient in some ways, but can be obtained much earlier in the game for the majority of players. Therefore, which house is most advantageous will likely depend upon playstyle and personal preference.

Faction related houses
Faction housing are granted free of charge upon joining with a guild. It should be noted that your spouse cannot live with you in any faction related house.

Spouse houses
The following is a list of all the possible spouses who own property and the conditions required to marry them.

Achievements
Buying a house unlocks the achievement Citizen. (Acquiring one of the "free" houses does not unlock this achievement.)

Bugs

 * An exploit can be used to acquire a house without losing gold; requires possession of the amount of septims needed to buy the house. Immediately after telling the Steward, I'll take it!, exit the conversation before he finishes talking, store all your gold in any nearby chest, and the money will not be taken but you will still receive the key and trigger the ownership flag on the house. Can be used, for example, to acquire Proudspire Manor (and subsequently any other house you can work this exploit on).
 * Using the above exploit may cause weapon racks to become unusable.
 * Placing items anywhere in a your house freely (ex. tables, dressers, etc.) will often result in the items ending up on the floor nearby upon re-entering the house. (Not including weapon racks, wall mounts, bookshelves, which are placed by activation.) Bumping or otherwise moving items which were already placed in the house can also result in them being "unpinned" and free to be strewn about the house. In some cases, re-entering a house will result in a large number of items falling through tables, flying off shelves and otherwise making a huge mess (especially in Breezehome), making this a nightmare for players demanding neatness in their home. The housecarl, unfortunately, does not include cleaning in their list of duties to their Thane.
 * In Hjerim, Vlindrel Hall and Honeyside is possible for the mannequins to glitch so, even if the armor is taken off the mannquein, once the player re-enters the house, the armor will be duplicated and will still be on the mannequin. This glitch can be used as a money maker, since extra armor can be sold every time it spawns.
 * Sometimes Sanguine Rose and Wabbajack, when put in the weapon racks, will be stored upside down. The Axe of Whiterun, when put in weapon racks, will be stored perpendicular to the wall.
 * If books are placed on a bookshelf in player's home, then read and taken, player will be unable to activate the bookshelf again. Seemingly the only solution is loading a previous autosave.
 * Mannequins, weapon racks, weapon plaques, and display cases may bug in differing ways. In all houses, manneguins can become transparent, but putting a necklace on them, exiting the activation screen, and taking it off can fix it temporarily. Racks, plaques, and display cases may all lose their ability to be activated. One known temporary solution is to punch the bugged piece of furniture until the option to 'activate' reappears.
 * After buying a house be careful not to place anything in the standard storage if you plan on upgrading at a later time, there is a chance that when you upgrade the items will be lost when the furniture is changed. (Not necessarily a bug, but perhaps poor planning)
 * Sometimes when a house is purchased, the items inside will not be in players ownership, so every item will have the "steal" option instead of "take," and taking them will be considered stealing by onlookers.
 * Many pointed out bugs, like mannequins, weapon racks and dagger displays not working properly, can be avoided by buying the house and all upgrades at once and then entering the purchased and upgraded house. Although, some minor bugs are still present like manneguins becoming transparent or player's items put in the house can be found scattered all over.