Leicester Is One of Country’s Most Popular Locations for Property Hunters

Leicester is one of the most popular locations to live in Britain, according to research from Zoopla. The property website placed the city in the top ten per cent of places in the UK based on analysis of property interest. Zoopla found that Leicester homes typically received 56 per cent more inquiries than the average location in the UK.

The research looked at the number of emails sent by potential buyers regarding properties between April 1 last year and the same time in 2017. The study centred on 50 major urban centres in Britain and put Leicester at number five in terms of how popular its properties were.

At the top of the list was Edinburgh, where listed properties received 145 per cent more interest. This was followed by Croydon, where 104 per cent more interest was noted. In third came central London with 77 per cent, followed in fourth by Glasgow, which saw 67 per cent more inquiries than an average UK property. The rest of the top ten was made up of Leicester, where April 2017 saw an average asking price of £216,230, according to Zoopla, Birmingham, Swansea, Reading, Milton Keynes, and Coventry.

Overall, Greater London was Britain’s most in-demand area, with Scotland next in line. The North East was the country’s least popular area, according to the study.

A more in-depth look at London revealed that the most sought-after borough was Barking and Dagenham. Richmond upon Thames, however, came out at the bottom of this borough index, after its homes commanded 35 per cent less buyer interest than the average for a London borough.

Lawrence Hall from Zoopla said that the study gave a valuable insight into in-demand areas in Britain. He added that it was interesting that Edinburgh outranked London and pointed to a possible cooling of the capital’s property market. He added that the likes of Croydon (and presumably Leicester too) experienced high demand for its properties because of the affordable options on offer.

In contrast to the appeal of Leicester and its fellow top ten locations, Preston came bottom of the rankings, showing a 45 per cent volume of enquiries compared to a 100 per cent national average. It was followed in the top ten worst-performing locations by Wigan, Newport in Wales, Warrington, Doncaster, Telford, York, Chesterfield, Stockport and Derby.

Zoopla also looked at popular keywords used by would-be buyers in their property searches and found some differences according to area. In Scotland, for example, most people looked for the word ‘sea’, suggesting the importance of coastal views and locations, while Edinburgh house-hunters most wanted a ‘garage’. In Wales, ‘acres’ suggested an interest in land, while buyers seemed to want ‘freehold’ properties in London.

If you are one of the many people looking for a Leicester property to buy, Keywest is the premium estate agency choice if you want unrivalled local knowledge, expertise and customer service. Find out more about how we can help you by getting in touch today, call us at our office at Hinckley Road 01162 544 555, or Queens Road 01162 544 543.