One northern city has seen house prices surge at nine times the rate of London over the past decade, new data from property website Rightmove reveals — a remarkable north-south divide reshaping the UK property map. Average asking prices in Manchester have rocketed by 63% over the past 10 years, with the typical price tag on a home now standing at £261,891, around £100,000 more than the £160,422 figure recorded a decade ago. London, despite remaining the most expensive city in Britain with an average asking price of £687,080, has seen growth of just 7% over the same period, creeping up from £639,593 ten years ago. It sits firmly at the bottom of Rightmove’s league table for percentage price growth.
Wolverhampton is a close runner-up to Manchester at 63% growth, with Newport on 57%, Nottingham on 53%, and Wakefield and Salford both on 52%. Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Doncaster and Swansea round out the top ten fastest-growing cities — and not one of them is in the south of England. That is no accident, said Rightmove, which noted that the data reveals a longer-term north versus south divide, with no cities in southern England appearing in its top ten for the fastest price growth, while the south dominates the list for the slowest.
“Manchester house prices rose 63% in 10 years, nine times London's 7% growth, new Rightmove data shows.”
Among the cities where prices have risen least are Oxford at 13%, Winchester at 14%, Cambridge at 15% and St Albans at 19% — all of which are also among the most expensive places to buy in the country. The surge in Manchester has spread beyond the city centre. Zooming in around Manchester itself, asking prices in Levenshulme, Atherton, Droylsden and Failsworth have grown by around 80% on average over the past decade, outpacing even the city’s already impressive overall figure.
Rightmove also points to what it calls a “spill over” effect from major cities into nearby towns and suburbs, as buyers cast their nets wider in search of value. Manchester’s growth has spread into Salford, and Birmingham’s… While the price surge is a huge boost for existing homeowners, it also means the dream of getting a first foothold on the property ladder in Manchester is becoming an increasingly tough ask for many buyers.