Where are the UK’s property hotspots?
New research from the Halifax has analysed Land Registry data to identify the towns and cities across the UK where most properties are being sold. Overall, there were 27 per cent more house sales in the first half of 2010 when compared to the previous year, with all but three locations recording increases in house sales.
The UK’s Top 5 Property Hotspots
The Essex town of Ilford was the UK’s leading property hotspot, according to the research. House sales rose by a staggering 85 per cent between the first half of 2009 and the corresponding period in 2010 with Croydon in second place (a 73 per cent increase) and Maidenhead in third (an increase of 71 per cent).
Romford and Watford came next in the list with sales up by around two thirds in both locations.
Suren Thiru, Halifax Housing Economist, said: “Over the past year, some towns have recorded considerable increases in the number of sales compared with 2009. Most of these towns have been in London and the South East and have good commuter links to central London. Overall, just three towns in England and Wales actually saw no increase in sales over the period.”
Towns with the lowest change in property sales
The research from Halifax found that only Blackpool recorded less house sales in the first half of 2010 than the corresponding period in 2009. There was no change in sales in either Grimsby or Sunderland and sales rose by just 4 per cent in Newcastle upon Tyne.
There was a clear north-south divide in the figures with sixteen of the twenty towns reporting the highest change in homes sold being located in London and the South East. Seven of the locations reporting the lowest increase in sales were in the Midlands or the North.
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