Where were the most searched for property locations in 2022 and where will the hotspots be in 2023?

In a post pandemic world, you’d be forgiven for thinking that UK homebuyers are all still considering upping sticks and relocating for a new life in the country. Not so according to leading property portal Rightmove.

Indeed, their most searched for buyer locations in 2022 were as follows.

Source: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/

Always popular with homebuyers, London retained its top spot from 2021 as the most searched for buyer location. Cornwall, Devon, Bristol and Glasgow were also non-movers from their top five spots on the list too. Interestingly, though, two more cities joined the top 10 list for 2022: Manchester and Cambridge. This means that apart from the ever-popular southwest coast, the most popular locations with prospective homebuyers in 2022 were all urban hotspots.

London also returned soundly to its pre-pandemic popularity in 2022, with 36% more searches in comparison to second place location Cornwall, although it is still some way off from its 49% peak in 2019.

By contrast, in 2021 when the pandemic was at its height in the second lockdown period, Cornwall actually overtook London in the popularity stakes to hit the top spot throughout January and February 2021 as home school took hold once again and frazzled parents juggling work and trigonometry at the kitchen table dreamed of a simpler life by the sea. The same happened again from May – September 2021, as school holiday sunshine beckoned, and asking prices in popular locations like Padstow and St Ives jumped an incredible 15-20%.

What are we likely to see in 2023?

Whilst we seem to have returned in many ways to pre-pandemic homebuying preferences where London is king when it comes to property searches, as the cost-of-living crisis continues, we are likely to see the popularity of more affordable regions within the UK increase as well. Particularly given the flexibility that many of us still have when it comes to working hours and home working arrangements.

This was certainly the case in 2022, as northern powerhouses Sheffield, York, Glasgow and Edinburgh remained popular, and Manchester joined the mix to replace pricey south coast hotspot Dorset. Cambridge also pushed higher priced southern neighbour Essex out of the top 10.

As we ease into 2023, homes in Scotland have been selling at the fastest rate (36 days) of any UK location, and interestingly the average asking price here of £169,594 is less than half the national average according to Rightmove. The North East (England’s most affordable region) was next up in terms of the time it takes to sell, followed by Yorkshire & the Humber, the North West and Wales respectively, with asking prices following the same pattern in these regions also.

Happily for homebuyers, these more affordable areas are also the most likely to see the healthiest house price growth in the next 5 years according to property experts Savills, with mortgage affordability likely to be a key driver for regional differences in popularity and, subsequently, house price growth. Given the Bank of England’s recent interest rate increase to 4% and the recession which is on the cards for 2023, it makes sense that homebuyers will want to be as prudent as possible when it comes to their next property purchase.