2023 review: Sandbanks is price hotspot and renters leave the city

• Rightmove reveals the key trends that shaped the 2023 property market:
• • Sandbanks in Dorset is 2023’s price hotspot, with agents reporting that popular areas with fewer homes for sale outperformed the wider market, while Rosyth in Dunfermline was the quickest market
  • Renters look to the leave the city in search of more affordable and a wider availability of homes
  • London is the most searched for location, while searches for Cornwall decline
  • A garage tops the priority list for buyers searching for their next home, while renters are most concerned about whether the home allows pets or comes with bills included

The UK’s biggest property website Rightmove reveals a round-up of some of the moving trends that shaped 2023.

Sandbanks in Dorset is this year’s price hotspot

Overall, national average asking prices at the end of 2023 were 1.1% lower than at the same time in the previous year. However, with Great Britain being made up of thousands of different local markets, with different dynamics of supply and demand, some areas saw an increase in asking prices.

Sandbanks in Poole, Dorset is 2023’s price hotspot, with average asking prices increasing by 20% compared to 2022, from £1,586,349 to £1,909,943.

Steve Isaacs, Director at Luxury and Prestige Realty in Poole says: “It’s been a very successful year selling prime waterfront properties on Sandbanks, which have outperformed the wider market. In fact, the Sandbanks market has continued to strengthen throughout the year. The strong market has been due to a limited supply of suitable properties combined with an increase in demand. The lifestyle element is not to be under-estimated, and the allure of living on the waterfront continues to attract buyers from out of the area.”

City	Average asking price 2023	Increase in average asking price versus 2022
Sandbanks, Poole, Dorset	£1,909,943	20%
Hulme, Greater Manchester	£275,886	16%
South Moor, County Durham	£106,671	15%
Chobham, Surrey	£1,062,483	14%
Walsgrave, Warwickshire	£257,320	14%
Dunblane, Stirlingshire	£324,158	13%
Hockley, Birmingham	£255,121	13%
Stepps, Glasgow	£252,156	13%
Shotley Bridge, County Durham	£252,334	13%
Brotton, Cleveland	£174,837	13%

 

Renters continue to leave the city

A severe shortage of properties to rent, fierce competition to secure the homes that are available, and rising rental prices led more renters to explore new areas outside of cities.

Across ten major cities, 54% of renters looking for a new a home were looking to move outside of the city they lived in rather than within it in 2023, compared to 51% in 2022.

City	% of renters enquiring to leave city 2023	% of renters enquiring to leave city 2022
Birmingham	57%	54%
Bristol	53%	52%
Edinburgh	49%	43%
Glasgow	56%	55%
Leeds	58%	57%
Liverpool	45%	43%
London	45%	40%
Manchester	62%	57%
Nottingham	58%	57%
Sheffield	57%	55%

 

Searches for Cornwall decline 

London is this year’s most searched for location again, with searches ticking up very slightly on last year by 1%. In second place is Cornwall, where searches have dropped by 18% compared to last year.

Devon is in third place again, but rising to the fourth most searched for location is Glasgow, replacing Bristol as next in line for the most searched for location for buyers.

Most searched for buyer locations 2023	Most searched for renter locations 2023
London	London
Cornwall	Manchester
Devon	Bristol
Glasgow	Glasgow
Bristol	Birmingham
Edinburgh	Liverpool
York	Leeds
Sheffield	Nottingham
Cambridge	Sheffield
Manchester	Cambridge

 

Rosyth in Dunfermline is 2023’s quickest market

Rosyth in Dunfermline, Fife is 2023’s quickest market with the average home for sale finding a buyer in just 17 days.

The quickest local markets are typically in Scotland. The average time to find a buyer is 66 days in Great Britain, but 37 days in Scotland.

Outside of Scotland, Redfield in Bristol was the quickest market, with homes finding a buyer in an average of 25 days.

 

Buyers want a garage and more space, renters want a pet and bills included

A garage tops the list of features buyers were searching for using Rightmove’s Keyword Sort tool in 2023. More space was a priority for buyers, with annexe, acre, garden and land making up the rest of the top five.

Meanwhile, renters were more concerned about searching for a home that allows pets, and whether the home comes will bills included. Their other top priorities, were whether the rental home comes furnished, has a garden, or has a garage.

Sales Keyword Sort Terms 2023	Rental Keyword Sort Terms 2023
Garage	Pets
Annexe	Bills Included
Acre	Furnished
Garden	Garage
Land	Garden

 

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert said: “Even in the more muted market of 2023, many areas across Great Britain saw an increase in asking prices last year. Many traditionally popular areas maintained their allure amongst buyers, whilst cheaper areas were also high on the list for buyers last year with affordability stretched.

“Whilst a garden, garage and more land remain high priorities for those searching for a move, we also know from our research that more intangible factors are key to home-hunters when deciding on a move. A strong sense of community, friendly neighbours and an area people can feel happy in are some of the most important things movers are looking for.”

ENDS

Notes to editor

• For further information please contact Jamie McLean on 07980 721 032 or email jamie.mclean@rightmove.co.uk
• For the latest stories, logos and images you can visit the Rightmove Press Centre: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/press-centre/