House buying expert predicts the best UK areas for house-hunting in 2026

A study has revealed the UK’s top property hotspots, with the most property listings per resident.

The research by the house buying experts, housebuyers4u, examined property listings across the 80 largest UK cities and towns on Rightmove. This analysis compared the number of homes for sale in each location to local population figures to determine which places have the biggest property markets. 

Table: Top 15 UK cities/towns with the most property listings per capita

Paul Gibbens, property expert at housebuyers4u, commented on the findings: 

“These statistics suggest that smaller cities and towns often have more dynamic property markets relative to their size. Nottingham’s position at the top of our rankings reflects its growing appeal as a more affordable alternative to larger cities. 

“The south coast towns like Poole, Eastbourne, and Bournemouth ranking so highly suggests that the desire for coastal living remains strong across the UK. Meanwhile, the lower ranking of major population centres like London and Birmingham indicates that property turnover in these cities is proportionally lower despite their larger overall numbers of listings. 

“We’re seeing some interesting regional patterns, with the Midlands and parts of northern England showing very active property markets, while Scottish cities tend to have lower property listing rates, which may reflect lower mobility or longer average homeownership in these areas.”

Key Findings:

Nottingham took the top spot with a huge 1,514 property listings per 100,000 residents. This is 135% higher than the average across all UK cities analysed (643 listings per 100,000 people), when scaling the 4,538 current property listings in the area by population. 

Doncaster places second in the national ranking with 1,369 listings per 100,000 people, with the findings revealing the South Yorkshire city had a total of 2,016 property listings at the time of analysis. 

Seaside town Poole claimed the third position with 1,220 listings per 100,000 residents. The coastal hotspot with just over 140,000 inhabitants, was revealed to have 1,720 homes up for sale at the time of the research. 

Eastbourne and Bournemouth rounded out the top five with 1,156 and 1,106 listings per 100,000 residents, respectively. Their high rankings point to a growing South Coast property scene that’s outpacing many larger cities. 

The findings revealed that Worthing landed sixth place with 1,092 listings per 100,000 people. 

Liverpool is ranked the most Northern city in the top 10 locations with the biggest property markets, securing seventh spot with 1,007 listings per 100,000 residents. 

Maidstone and Exeter placed eighth and ninth, with 977 and 939 listings per 100,000 people, respectively. Colchester completed the top ten with 901 listings per 100,000 residents. 

The findings revealed that London missed a place in the top 40, despite having the country’s highest overall number of property listings at 52,423. When adjusted for its population of 8.87 million people, the capital ranked just 41st with 591 listings per 100,000 residents. 

Manchester performed considerably better at 15th with 848 listings per 100,000 people. Whereas, the UK’s second-most populous city, Birmingham, placed just 58th nationally, with the findings revealing 473 listings per 100,000 residents in the city when examined. 

In contrast, Scottish cities were found to have some of the lowest rates of properties for sale, compared to their resident numbers. Edinburgh ranked 75th in the UK, Glasgow followed in 76th, and Aberdeen placed 78th. 

However, it was Dundee that was revealed as having the lowest number of property listings per capita, taking the 80th spot among the 80 biggest UK cities.