Top 10 areas for hunting home buyers revealed with Didsbury top

A posh and leafy Manchester suburb has been named as the most popular place for buyers actively looking for their new home.

Didsbury, on the north bank of the River Mersey, is 4.5 miles south of Manchester’s city centre. It is an attractive suburb with plenty of pubs and executive homes.

It has been identified by Rightmove as the most popular local neighbourhood for buyers signing up to the property website to find out about properties for sale.

This five-bedroom house in Catterick Road, Didsbury, is for sale for £800,000 via Julian Wadden estate agents

Rightmove identified the most popular local neighbourhood for buyers signing up to the property website to find out about properties for sale

Rightmove identified the most popular local neighbourhood for buyers signing up to the property website to find out about properties for sale

The property portal analysed the selection of 2.7million house hunters who are signed up to receive new home alerts.

Top of the list of local neighbourhoods is Didsbury in Greater Manchester, which is one of the most expensive areas within the county.

The average asking price in Didsbury currently stands at £367,429, more than £130,000 higher than the Greater Manchester average of £237,380.

Half of the top 10 on the list are based in and around Manchester, suggesting the city has become hot property in recent months.  

Second on the list is Walthamstow in East London, where average asking prices have risen by 116 per cent in the past decade, from £230,888 to £499,534 and are up by 4 per cent in the past year.

The other London location in the top 10 is Chiswick. It is the only place on the list where asking prices are lower than this time last year, down 1 per cent to £969,350, and down 9 per cent when compared with five years ago when they were above £1million.

This four-bedroom house in Belgrave Road, Walthamstow, is on the market for £825,000 via Estates17

This four-bedroom house in Belgrave Road, Walthamstow, is on the market for £825,000 via Estates17 

THE MOST POPULAR PLACE FOR BUYERS ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR A NEW HOME
Average asking price Average asking price Average asking price Average asking price
Apr-21 Apr-20 Apr-16 Apr-11
Didsbury, Greater Manchester £367,429 £349,826 £321,907 £252,585
Walthamstow, London £499,534 £480,333 £464,260 £230,888
Wirral, Merseyside £287,243 £260,879 £237,162 £220,012
Prestwich, Greater Manchester £277,643 £250,241 £216,579 £186,708
Horsforth, West Yorkshire £312,460 £290,173 £272,229 £238,665
Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Greater Manchester £359,377 £319,694 £293,613 £219,118
West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire £365,370 £339,985 £304,285 £243,752
Heaton Moor, Greater Manchester £307,040 £292,903 £237,490 £204,248
Bramhall, Greater Manchester £482,311 £469,118 £429,583 £361,322
Chiswick, London £969,350 £982,464 £1,062,076 £934,551
Source: Rightmove         
This three-bedroom house in Woodvale Terrace, Horsforth, is for sale for £400,000 via Hardisty estate agents

This three-bedroom house in Woodvale Terrace, Horsforth, is for sale for £400,000 via Hardisty estate agents

Rightmove said the number of properties coming on the market is still not meeting demand from buyers, but the level of new listings has improved.

When comparing March and April with January and February of this year, there was a rise of 51 per cent in the number of properties coming onto the market, with more than 260,000 new homes coming up for sale in the past two months. 

Tim Bannister, of Rightmove, said: ‘Our new analysis gives sellers in these local hotspots a clear indication of just how popular their area is.’

This four-bed house in Wordsworth Road, West Bridgford, is for sale for £375,000 via fhp Living estate agents

This four-bed house in Wordsworth Road, West Bridgford, is for sale for £375,000 via fhp Living estate agents

PROPERTY ALERTS

When people are searching on Rightmove they can register to receive emails about areas of their choice.

If they sign up to receive them instantly they will be sent emails as soon as something matches their criteria is added to Rightmove.

So for example I can sign up to receive properties in Didsbury for sale within a budget of say up to £400,000. As soon as agents add properties like this to Rightmove I will receive an email to tell me a new property has been added.

 

Rob Kennedy, managing director of Philip James Kennedy estate agents in Didsbury Village, said: ‘The marketplace during 2021 has seen a surge in the Didsbury property market with record levels of sales and many properties generating multiple bids.

‘House prices have increased as a result and properties are selling and completing faster.’

He explained that during the pandemic, the importance of ‘home’ has increased with many buyers wanting more space working from home, more space to relax and exercise, and more outside space, with easy access to a local park or larger garden.

He said: ‘Built within the backdrop of wealthy merchant mansion homes and exclusive conservation areas, Didsbury offers a wide variety of exclusive properties with early Victorian cottages, late Victorian terraces and traditional semi’s through to “Arts and Crafts” detached family homes and futuristic apartment and townhouse developments.

‘Fashionable West Didsbury village consists of predominantly late Victorian terrace properties arranged around irrepressible Burton Road with family sized villas, mansion terraces, and sought after modern and converted luxury apartment developments.

‘Both villages are geographically small but have beautiful parks, outstanding educational establishments, specialist food shops, a well-established café culture, upmarket bars and award winning restaurants.’