Demand for property in Manchester has continued to rise to new heights over the past few years, with more people than ever before looking to live, work, and invest in the city. The city has become a property hotspot in the UK, especially as more people look to move outside of the capital. It has now been revealed by Rightmove that Manchester has recorded the strongest house price growth of any major city in the UK over the last decade.
The analysis, conducted by Rightmove, takes all their property price data, combined with trends around supply and demand, and has yielded some interesting insights. Firstly, the data revealed that since 2016, asking prices in Manchester have risen by a massive 63%, which is particularly interesting when compared to the 7% growth rate seen in London.
The data also reveals that none of the fastest growing cities in the top 10 of the list are located in the South of England. This insight alone means great things for property jobs in the North West and architecture jobs in the North West too.
The trend in increases seen outside of the South of England have been attributed to places starting with lower price points having more room to grow compared to areas that already had very expensive options. This means that whilst London still takes the top spot for the most expensive housing, other areas of the country have had the opportunity to deliver a much higher return on investment over this time period.
For context, Rightmove revealed that the average asking price in Manchester sat at around the £160,422 mark in 2016. Today, this figure has jumped to £261,891. When compared to London which had an average asking price of £639,593 in 2016 vs £687,080 today, this is a much more pronounced difference.
Property Expert at Rightmove, Colleen Babcock, states that ‘Manchester is a big winner of the past decade, with strong price growth underlining its growing popularity among buyers. By contract, London has seen much slower growth over the same period, reflecting how higher prices in the capital have limited how much further buyers can stretch.’
Babcock also went on to outline how ‘looking at the bigger picture, affordability has been a central theme shaping these trends. Areas with lower starting prices have had more room for growth, which has contributed to a widening north-south divide in price growth trends over the last ten years.’
Interestingly, she also explores other factors outside of the purely financial, stating that ‘some of the shifts behind this are continuing to play out, particularly changes in working patterns. Greater flexibility through hybrid and remote working is still influencing where people choose to live, supporting demand in cities that offer better value and a different lifestyle balance.’ Transport options were also a big factor in people’s purchase and investment decisions.
It’s not just Manchester that has seen this growth too, with surrounding areas such as Salford also seeing similar trends in terms of levels of growth, with a 52% change. Interestingly, Salford has lower average asking prices compared to Manchester, but still ranks among the stronger results in terms of overall growth.
It is no secret that Manchester’s property industry continues to boom, and this new data from Rightmove just solidifies this. It will be interesting to see how the trends of the next decade compare, and if any other locations in the North West become such growth hotspots over time as well.
