Rightmove reveals the year’s most searched-for locations

Bristol is the location outside London most searched for on Rightmove this year, by both buyers and renters.

The average asking price of property in Bristol is £316,410, which is around £283,000 cheaper than in the capital, while homes for sale in Bristol spent an average of 50 days on the market before finding a buyer this year – selling quicker than anywhere else in the South West.

Manchester and Liverpool completed the top three most searched for locations for renters this year, while York and Glasgow were the second and third most popular places for prospective buyers. 

In the capital, the most searched for place for buyers was Wimbledon and for renters was Canary Wharf.

When it comes to sales growth, Pontefract in Yorkshire has seen the biggest year-on-year increase in average asking prices, rising 12.3 per cent to £175,412 in 2019. 

This compares to a national average of just 0.8 per cent.

In the capital, Hoxton in the London borough of Hackney takes this crown, with average asking prices rising by 11.4 per cent to £1,019,510 this year.

Meanwhile, it’s Ashton-Under-Lyne in the North West which has seen the biggest rental hikes outside of London. Tenants, on average, are forking out £546 a month – a 5.4 per cent upturn from 2018.

And in London, Battersea in Wandsworth has seen the biggest increase in average asking rents, with prices rising by 14.1 per cent over the past year to £2,544 per month.

Time on the market measures show the top 10 ‘fastest’ locations are all in Scotland, with Falkirk leading the way, taking just 28 days from the time a property is added to Rightmove until it is marked as sold subject to contract.

Rightmove’s property expert Miles Shipside says: “There’s high demand for suitable housing in Bristol and the surrounding area, as it’s a vibrant regional centre with a strong local economy. Historically, there has not been enough new house building to cope with the shortage of homes, resulting in prices rising at a faster pace than many other cities in the UK. In the last year the price of property coming to market in Bristol has risen by 2.3 per cent, well above the national average of 0.8 per cent.” 

And he continues: “Though this is good news for those already on the property ladder, it makes it harder for first-time buyers to get onto it. These are dynamics that are likely to continue, making Bristol a good place to invest.”