Revealed! The most searched-for locations of 2022

London has returned as the go-to destination for potential property buyers, Rightmove claims.

The portal has revealed the most searched for locations by users during 2022.

During the pandemic, more people were looking for their next home outside of cities, in the countryside or by the coast. In several months of 2021, Cornwall replaced London as the most searched for location on Rightmove.

But searches for London-based homes this year are up 9% annually, Rightmove said, while demand for property in the previously popular areas of Devon and Cornwall are down 17% and 18% respectively.

London has 36% more buyer searches than Cornwall at the end of the year, which is the biggest gap since 2019.

This compares to last year when there was just a 3% gap in number of searches between London and Cornwall, according to the research.

Rightmove suggested the increase in searches for London alongside the decrease in searches for Cornwall and Devon indicates that the trend of looking out of the capital, and to the coast or countryside, may be behind us in 2023.

The portal also revealed the fastest-moving property sales markets this year.

Livingston in West Lothian, Scotland is this year’s quickest market – with homes in the area finding a buyer in an average of just over two weeks or 15 days.

All of the top five areas are in Scotland, with Bo’ness, West Lothian in second place and Larbert, Stirlingshire in third. 

The small village of Picket Piece in Hampshire is the quickest market outside of Scotland. Sellers in Picket Piece found buyers in an average of 16 days this year.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert, said: “This year people searching for their next home have well and truly returned to the capital – we started to see the tide turning towards the end of last year, and throughout 2022 a lot of our trends in the market have started to head back towards where they were in 2019.

“As we head into the festive period, we’re anticipating our traditional boxing day bounce in search activity, where more future home-movers log onto Rightmove after spending Christmas with friends and family, and begin thinking about where they could live next year. We’re hearing from agents that they are getting properties ready for sale to go live on Boxing Day, ready to capture the attention of those beginning their search through to the traditionally busier January period.

“We’ve seen a group of people using the past few months to assess their options and consider what they can afford, and they could be spurred on next year should fixed-rate mortgages drop as anticipated.”