House price hotspots and property trends revealed after data analysis

Turning its attention to the rental market, Rightmove say renters continued to leave cities to look further afield. This is due to severe shortage of properties to rent, fierce competition to secure the homes that are available, and rising rental prices.

Across ten major cities, 54% of renters looking for a new a home were planning to move outside of the city they lived in rather than within it in 2023, compared to 51% in 2022.

Data shows that in Leeds, 58 per cent of tenants wanted to move out of the city in 2023 compared with 57 per cent in 2022and in Sheffield 57 per cent were looking further afield compared to 55 per cent in 2022.

The most searched for areas for those wanting to rent were London, Manchester, Bristol, Glasgow, Birmingham, LIverpool, Leeds, Nottingham, Sheffield and Cambridge. Meanwhle, the most searched for places for those who wanted to buy were London, Cornwall, Devon, Glasgow, Bristol, Edinburgh, York, Sheffield, Cambridge and Manchester.

Rosyth in Dunfermline, Fife is 2023’s quickest market with the average home for sale finding a buyer in just 17 days. The quickest local markets are typically in Scotland. The average time to find a buyer is 66 days in Great Britain, but 37 days in Scotland. Outside of Scotland, Redfield in Bristol was the quickest market, with homes finding a buyer in an average of 25 days.

As for what buyers and tenants want from a home, a garage tops the list of features buyers were searching for using Rightmove’s Keyword Sort tool in 2023. More space was a priority for buyers, with annexe, acre, garden and land making up the rest of the top five.

Meanwhile, renters were more concerned about searching for a home that allows pets, and whether the home comes with bills included. Their other top priorities, were whether the rental home comes furnished, has a garden or has a garage.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert said: “Even in the more muted market of 2023, many areas across Britain saw an increase in asking prices last year. Many traditionally popular areas maintained their allure amongst buyers, whilst cheaper areas were also high on the list for buyers last year with affordability stretched.

“Whilst a garden, garage and more land remain high priorities for those searching for a move, we also know from our research that more intangible factors are key to home-hunters when deciding on a move. A strong sense of community, friendly neighbours and an area people can feel happy in are some of the most important things movers are looking for.”