Many residents in Britain’s biggest cities are searching for properties in the suburbs and on the coast, although city living is still a popular choice.
Zoopla recently analysed search data over the past year to see where residents of some of Britain’s largest cities are looking to move to. The UK property website examined the most popular searches both within and outside of house hunters’ cities of residence.
Most searched-for locations outside the residents’ cities
Zoopla’s research showed that residents of nearly half of Britain’s top 10 sprawling urban areas were looking to move to the coast. For instance, Londoners searched the most for Margate, a seaside town on the south-east coast with property prices averaging £231,506. Manchester residents eyed Wallasey, a town at the mouth of the River Mersey near Liverpool’s city centre, which features properties worth £145,382 on average. However, Liverpudlians looked to Skegness on the east coast where property costs about £168,010.
Not all major cities saw the majority of residents yearning for the sea or even getting far from the city. Leeds residents commonly searched for properties in Bradford, a city directly eight miles to the west, with an average property price of £132,524. Also, people in Birmingham sought properties in Droitwich, a town less than 25 miles south-west of Birmingham, with homes costing £287,364 on average.
Most popular searches within residents’ home cities
Many residents of Britain’s largest cities searched for properties in the suburbs of their own cities. Within the city area, Londoners most frequently searched for Wimbledon with a steep average property price of £804,500. Birmingham residents looked to Northfield, which has a much more affordable average property price of £175,035. Salford piqued the interest of people living in Manchester featuring house prices averaging £169,608, while for Leeds residents it was Churwell averaging at £187,260. And Liverpudlians looked to Belle Vale, which boasts the lowest average property price shown in Zoopla’s data at £47,588.
Although some Brits are searching for properties in suburbs and smaller towns, city living is still very popular, especially amongst university graduates and young professionals. Boasting a large urban area, Manchester was recently named the most liveable city in the UK. A recent study showed that Birmingham was the UK’s safest place to live. And on top of that, Liverpool has become the buy-to-let capital of the UK, ensuring city properties will remain popular among homebuyers and investors.
