Bristol tops property searches outside London

Bristol emerged as the popular location outside London for online property searches among both buyers and renters during 2019, according to a new year survey.

David Sapsted

2 January 2020

New analysis conducted by property website Rightmove has found that Manchester and Liverpool were the second and third most-searched-for locations outside of London among renters, while York and Glasgow were second and third for prospective buyers.According to Rightmove, the average asking price of property in Bristol over the year stood at £316,410 – some £283,000 cheaper than in London.Miles Shipside, commercial director at Rightmove, says, “There’s a high demand for suitable housing in Bristol and the surrounding area, as it’s a vibrant regional centre with a strong local economy."

Read more on the UK housing market

Mr Shipside continues, "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.“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.”

Price growth across the UK

In the capital itself, the most searched place among buyers was Wimbledon and, among renters, Canary Wharf.As far as price growth was concerned, Pontefract in Yorkshire saw the largest year-on-year increase in average asking prices, rising 12.3 per cent to £175,412, compared to a national average rise of just 0.8 per cent. Hoxton in the London borough of Hackney took first place, with average asking prices rising by 11.4 per cent to £1,019,510.Ashton-Under-Lyne in North West England saw the biggest rental hikes outside of London, with a 5.4 per cent increase, bringing the monthly average to £546. This pales in comparison with the 14.1 per cent rise in Battersea, south London, where average asking prices for rents jumped to £2,544 per month.