More than half of England and Wales’s 50 leading emerging property hotspots are in the North, according to research examining affordability, house price growth and housing market activity.
An analysis of 313 local authorities by conveyancing firm Muve found that 28 of the top 50 locations were in northern England, where average property prices increased by 3.5% over the past year, compared with a 0.1% decline across the South.
County Durham topped the rankings, with an average house price of £138,767, approximately one-ninth of the £1,272,760 average recorded in Kensington and Chelsea.
Nine of the top 10 locations identified by the study had average property prices below £300,000, highlighting the relative affordability of markets outside the country’s most expensive regions.
The findings come amid renewed pressure on mortgage affordability. The average five-year fixed mortgage rate has reached 6% for the first time in three years, while the number of fixed-rate products priced below 5% fell from 1,494 at the beginning of September to just nine by 5 October.
Search data also suggests prospective purchasers are reassessing their options. According to Google Trends, UK searches for “where to buy a house” increased by 10% compared with August, 70% over three months and 103% compared with September 2025.
HOUSE PRICE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
Muve’s Emerging Hotspots Index combines five equally weighted measures: housing affordability, annual house price growth, new-build activity, transaction volumes and life satisfaction. The underlying information was drawn from the Office for National Statistics and HM Land Registry.
Preston recorded the strongest annual house price growth among the 313 local authorities surveyed, with prices rising by 10.6%. Caerphilly followed closely at 10.5%.
Among larger cities, Leeds ranked highest in the index at 20th overall. The West Yorkshire city recorded 220 mortgage sales, a figure exceeded only by Birmingham in the study.
Although northern locations accounted for most of the leading areas, the research also identified opportunities in southern England. North Somerset ranked ninth nationally, while West Suffolk placed 19th.
David Jabbari, chief executive officer of Muve, says: “It’s great to see a diverse range of credible moving locations across the country, from the overall index leader, County Durham, to Birmingham, where the number of new builds popping up creates less competition for homeowners.
“It’s the combination of both factors that signals genuine opportunity for buyers: somewhere still affordable but with enough new housing being built to suggest that the area is on a developer’s radar, and increasingly on a buyer’s shortlist too.”
The research suggests that lower purchase prices alone are not determining which markets offer potential for buyers. Development activity, transaction levels and local quality-of-life measures also influence the rankings, providing a broader assessment of housing market conditions.
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