The property market dominated the news again last week, with the Bank of England announcing another interest rate hike in the UK.
With the current rate now at 1.75% - the biggest hike in 27 years - combined with a cost of living crisis, potential homebuyers are finding it hard to stick to a budget and get their foot on the property ladder.
Zoopla did some digging and found the most and the least popular places to buy a home in the UK.
Bradford claimed the top spot as the most popular, registering a 98% rise in buyer demand in the last five years.
Wolverhampton and Warrington followed closely on the second and third spot registering a growth of 91% and 70% respectively. Rounding off the top 5 were Reading (69%) and Oldham (65%).
According to their research, demand for homes is now 25% above average compared with five years ago, with the average home now costing £256,600, up £19,700 year-on-year.
Whilst the hometown of pop star Zayn Malik and artist David Hockney is enjoying its moment in the sun, this Shropshire town was revealed as the least popular place to buy a home.
With demand at -16%, Shrewsbury was revealed to be the least popular followed by East London at -12% and South West London at -5%.
North London makes it to the list of top 10 least popular places too, registering just a 1% rise in buyer demand in the past five years.
What’s ahead for the market?
According to Zoopla, the demand for homes is expected to weaken into next year as mortgage rates increase with growth rates predicted to level out at 5% at the end of 2022.
However, significant price falls are not expected as although the housing market is not immune, it is in much better shape to weather the economic headwinds than in previous cycles.
London remains the UK’s most unaffordable housing market where house prices are 11.6x average earnings and prices are rising at the slowest rate of 4%.
Richard Davies, MD of Chestertons, says, “One driving factor behind house hunters wanting to move sooner rather than later is interest rates.
“With the Bank of England putting up rates more than once this year, many buyers have established a stronger sense of urgency.”
“Another reason driving buyer enquiries is that the market is seeing a post-pandemic reshuffle. During Covid, many house hunters put their search on hold as priorities changed.
“Now, those buyers are back, wanting to make their move a reality."
"In addition, we also have international students, international buyers and office workers who require a pied-à-terre closer to work again.”
