London has returned as the go-to destination for potential property buyers, Rightmove claims.
The portal has revealed the most searched for locations by users during 2022
During the pandemic, more people were looking for their next home outside of cities, in the countryside or by the coast. In several months of 2021, Cornwall replaced London as the most searched for location on Rightmove.
But searches for London-based homes this year are up 9% annually, Rightmove said, while demand for property in the previously popular areas of Devon and Cornwall are down 17% and 18% respectively.
London has 36% more buyer searches than Cornwall at the end of the year, which is the biggest gap since 2019.
This compares to last year when there was just a 3% gap in number of searches between London and Cornwall, according to the research.
Rightmove suggested the increase in searches for London alongside the decrease in searches for Cornwall and Devon indicates that the trend of looking out of the capital, and to the coast or countryside, may be behind us in 2023.
The portal also revealed the fastest-moving property sales markets this year.
Livingston in West Lothian, Scotland is this year’s quickest market – with homes in the area finding a buyer in an average of just over two weeks or 15 days.
All of the top five areas are in Scotland, with Bo’ness, West Lothian in second place and Larbert, Stirlingshire in third.
The small village of Picket Piece in Hampshire is the quickest market outside of Scotland. Sellers in Picket Piece found buyers in an average of 16 days this year.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert, said: “This year people searching for their next home have well and truly returned to the capital – we started to see the tide turning towards the end of last year, and throughout 2022 a lot of our trends in the market have started to head back towards where they were in 2019.
“As we head into the festive period, we’re anticipating our traditional boxing day bounce in search activity, where more future home-movers log onto Rightmove after spending Christmas with friends and family, and begin thinking about where they could live next year. We’re hearing from agents that they are getting properties ready for sale to go live on Boxing Day, ready to capture the attention of those beginning their search through to the traditionally busier January period.
“We’ve seen a group of people using the past few months to assess their options and consider what they can afford, and they could be spurred on next year should fixed-rate mortgages drop as anticipated.”
| Rank | Area |
| 1 | London |
| 2 | Cornwall |
| 3 | Devon |
| 4 | Bristol |
| 5 | Glasgow |
| 6 | Manchester |
| 7 | Edinburgh |
| 8 | Sheffield |
| 9 | York |
| 10 | Cambridge |
Affordability will hit tenant demand and rent rises in 2023
The prospect for big rent rises in 2023 is slim with affordability already hitting a tenant’s ability to pay rent, one analysis reveals.
According to Zoopla, rents rose by 12.1% in 2022 but rent now accounts for 35% of a renter’s income. In total, the property platform says that tenants spent £5.4 billion on paying rent this year.
Tenants are increasingly looking for affordable options when looking for homes to rent. The year that rents hit the least affordable level.
Richard Donnell, Zoopla’s director of research and insight, said: “2022 was the year that rents hit the least affordable level since we started tracking rental affordability a decade ago.
“Rents rose 12.1% over the course of the year – well ahead of earnings growth at 6% – and the average renter now puts 35% of their income towards rent. Unfortunately for renters, the market continues to face a chronic imbalance between supply and demand, with supply of rental homes 38% lower than the five-year average and demand 46% higher.”
He added: “Rents rose the fastest in large cities and renters increasingly sought one-bedroom flats to find better value for money.We expect stretched affordability to hit demand and the pace of rent increases in the first half of 2023, with rent growth slowing to 4% to 5% by the end of next year. Increasing investment in new rental supply from multiple sources is the main route to reducing rental growth and making for a more sustainable private rented sector.”
Upbeat view for property prices in 2023
Zoopla has also looked at the UK’s residential housing market with an upbeat view for property prices in 2023.
Richard says: “At the start of the year, the UK housing market was still feeling the motivational impact of the pandemic on our desire to move home. “The shock of higher mortgage rates hit buyers in October, with demand now down 50% and sales agreed down 28% compared to last year.But house prices rose 7.2% over the year and 1 in 14 homeowners moved house, making 2022 another strong year for the market.”
Forecasters have made bearish predictions for 2023
He added: “While many forecasters have made bearish predictions for 2023 – anticipating house price falls of 8% to 12% and a significant fallback in sales numbers – we’re more positive about the outlook. We’re anticipating 1 million housing sales in 2023, supported by more working from home, the ongoing spike in retirement and a greater consideration of home running costs. New mortgage rates are manageable: banks are well-capitalised and ready to lend. We expect mortgage rates to be at 4.5% to 5% in January 2023 which will add to buying costs, but not excessively. Overall, I think 2023 may well disprove the gloomy forecasts made when the outlook for mortgage rates looked much worse.”
Zoopla’s year in numbers for the housing market:
- 7.2%: average house price gain for homeowners
- 25 days: how long it took to sell a home
- 94%: percentage of asking price achieved in November 2022
- 3 bedroom semi-detached: most in-demand property type
- 1.3 million: number of homes sold
- £369 billion: what the UK spent on buying property
- 11.2%: house price growth in Wigan, 2022’s best performing market
- £1.18 million: average house price in the most expensive market, Kensington and Chelsea.