Are cities back in fashion for house buyers? The latest data seems to suggest so. For people property investment planning in Cheshire and surrounding areas, figures revealed a 16% increase in the average number of first-time house buyers looking to move to an urban area.
In the North West, Liverpool scored highly among this demographic. Elsewhere, Dundee, Edinburgh, Doncaster and Plymouth also attracted high levels of interest.
The research was conducted by Rightmove and looked at 50 areas across the country, excluding London. It focused on entry-level properties with no more than two bedrooms. It concluded that the dream of a rural idyll that many people aspired to during the pandemic has petered out, with buyers once again wooed by the features offered by city living, with its wide range of arts, amenities and social living, coupled with the shift away from remote working back to office or hybrid arrangements.
According to the Nationwide house price index, average national house prices fell by 0.8% to £271,619 in June. This has been attributed to a number of different factors, such as changes to stamp duties, and direct sales methods that have become popular for speeding up the process of finding a buyer.
Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in April showed that the average price paid by first-time buyers was £223,400. People joining the property ladder will note that the average UK house price rose over 2.3 times in real terms over the last 50 years.
