Motherwell is poised to be the UK’s house price hotspot this year as Scotland dominates the ist of best prospects for growth.
Relatively cheap prices and a shortage of stock means the former steel town – average price £134,700 – will see the strongest rise, according to the property search website Zoopla.
It expects average house prices in the UK to rise by about 1.5% this year, with nine of the top ten markets in Scotland and the other in Wigan in Greater Manchester.
At the other end of the scale, London, Tunbridge Wells, Brighton and Torquay fall into Zoopla’s bottom ten.
The north of Britain has emerged as a stronger area for house price growth since the pandemic as homebuyers have found it difficult to keep up with rapidly rising prices and stamp duty in the south.
According to Zoopla, house prices in the south “are already posting single-digit falls”, while Scotland has the “best market conditions”.
Zoopla’s research evaluated key housing market indicators, including affordability, average time on the market, the scale of price reductions, and the proportion of homes unsold for more than six months.
These factors were assessed across 120 UK postal areas to produce an overall ranking of areas with the best prospects for 2026.
Table 1: Top ten housing markets in the UK
| UK rank | Postal area | Country/ region | Average price | House price growth %yoy | Time to sell (days) | % stock >6m old | Asking price cut >5% |
| 1 | ML – Motherwell | Scotland | £134,700 | 3.4% | 14 | 7% | 8% |
| 2 | G – Glasgow | Scotland | £163,600 | 3.0% | 14 | 6% | 4% |
| 3 | PA – Paisley | Scotland | £139,500 | 3.4% | 17 | 7% | 13% |
| 4 | FK – Falkirk | Scotland | £170,600 | 4.2% | 14 | 5% | 8% |
| 5 | KY – Kirkcaldy | Scotland | £171,400 | 4.2% | 17 | 6% | 13% |
| 6 | EH – Edinburgh | Scotland | £251,500 | 1.7% | 14 | 6% | 9% |
| 7 | KA – Kilmarnock | Scotland | £126,200 | 2.4% | 22 | 11% | 13% |
| 8 | PH – Perth | Scotland | £206,200 | 3.1% | 25 | 8% | 22% |
| 9 | IV – Inverness | Scotland | £207,100 | 3.5% | 24 | 6% | 23% |
| 10 | WN – Wigan | North West | £175,800 | 3.0% | 32 | 9% | 19% |