Bargains up North as home asking prices rocket by 12%
ASKING prices in the North are booming as demanding home buyers look to get more for their money.
Lancaster and Wigan saw some of the biggest rises with both surging 12 per cent in just a year in a top 10 list compiled by Rightmove.
While London was not included in the research, towns such as Neath in South Wales, Newquay in Cornwall and Liverpool have all seen double-digit growth.
And Paisley, near Glasgow, had an even bigger boost with asking prices up 15 per cent.
Joel Edgerton, at Regan & Hallworth estate agents, said: “Wigan has undoubtedly seen huge price growth, especially towards the end of last year when the market was absolutely booming.
“I’ve been an estate agent inWigan – the land of the pies – for 23 years and it was probably the busiest six months I’ve ever known.
“The town has really remodelled its image and the council has tried to rebrand the town with a more modern feel. But we’re still a dead friendly town and a proper northern town in that respect.”
The most expensive on the list is Newquay with asking prices around £294,381 but the top 10 are still cheaper than the nationwide average. Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data, said: “A recent study found the biggest ‘winners’ for property prices for all of 2020 were suburban areas in the North West, especially towns near Liverpool and Manchester. This latest research illustrates that this trend is very much still alive.” Estate agents in Paisley say being close to the countryside may have helped attract buyers, particularly during lockdowns.
Curtis Chisholm, director at Cochran Dickie estate agency, said: “The demand for Paisley can be attributed to the fact that you can get more for your money here than in Glasgow’s West End or South Side, especially with the ease of commuting coupled with quality homes in very desirable addresses.
“Paisley is a very historical town with fabulous culture.”
The average asking price in the town is £126,903, up from £110,720 a year ago.