Rightmove most searched location returns to London in 2022

The capital is back! London is most searched location among house hunters after pandemic saw buyers shun cities for the countryside and seaside

  • The capital was the most searched for location on Rightmove this year 
  • Pandemic trend for rural and seaside homes reverses as buyers look to London 
  • London had 36% more buyer searches than Cornwall at the end of this year

London was the most searched location for house hunters looking online in 2022, it has been revealed.

It is in sharp contrast to the years of the pandemic which saw buyers shun city centres in favour of rural and seaside locations in a trend now known as the ‘race for space’.

Locations such as Cornwall and Devon became highly sought-after at that time with house prices soaring amid a lack of supply of homes to buy.

During that period – specifically several months in 2021 – Cornwall even replaced London as the most searched for location on Rightmove.

The capital was the most searched for location on Rightmove this year, overtaking popular seaside locations

Most online searched locations
Rank  Area 
London 
2 Cornwall
3 Devon
4 Bristol
5 Glasgow
6 Manchester
7 Edinburgh
8 Sheffield
9 York
10 Cambridge
Source: Rightmove 

Fast forward to this year and the trend has reversed, as buyer search behaviour returns towards more normal pre-pandemic patterns.

Searches for London increased by 9 per cent compared with last year, while searches for Cornwall dropped by 18 per cent and by 17 per cent in Devon, according to Rightmove.

The property website said that London had 36 per cent more buyer searches than Cornwall at the end of the year, which is the biggest gap since 2019.

It compares to last year when there was just a 3 per cent gap in the number of searches between London and Cornwall.

Rightmove suggested that the increase in searches for London alongside the decrease in searches for Cornwall and Devon indicates that the trend of looking out of the capital, and to the coast or countryside, may be ‘behind us’ in 2023.

The property website went on to identify the quickest selling markets.

Livingston in West Lothian, Scotland, is this year’s quickest market, with homes in the area finding a buyer in an average of just over two weeks or 15 days.

All of the top five areas are in Scotland, with Bo’ness, West Lothian in second place and Larbert, Stirlingshire in third.

The small village of Picket Piece in Hampshire is the quickest market outside of Scotland. Sellers in Picket Piece found buyers in an average of 16 days this year.

RIGHTMOVE’S QUICKEST SELLING MARKETS IN SCOTLAND IN 2022
Rank Area Average Asking Price Time to find a buyer 2022 (days) Change in time to find a buyer versus 2021 (days)
1 Livingston, West Lothian £192,695 15 -5
2 Bo’ness, West Lothian £160,710 15 -4
3 Larbert, Stirlingshire £215,189 15 -1
4 Falkirk, Stirlingshire £142,465 16 -1
5 Bellshill, Lanarkshire £118,883 16 0
Source: Rightmove       
Locations such as Cornwall and Devon became popular among house hunters during the pandemic

Locations such as Cornwall and Devon became popular among house hunters during the pandemic

RIGHTMOVE’S QUICKEST SELLING MARKETS OUTSIDE OF SCOTLAND IN 2022
Rank Area Average Asking Price Time to find a buyer 2022 (days) Change in time to find a buyer versus 2021 (days)
1 Picket Piece, Hampshire £326,737 16 -9
2 Fishponds, Bristol £316,410 17 -8
3 Peverell, Devon £263,132 18 -9
4 Tuffley, Gloucestershire £257,216 18 -7
5 Melksham, Wiltshire £289,133 18 -13
Source: Rightmove       

Competitive rental market

This year has seen the most competitive rental market on record. At its peak, there were quadruple the number of tenants enquiring about properties to move to, as there were properties to rent.

Rightmove also tracked shifts in what tenants are looking for this year.

Tenant searches for properties with bills included are up 57 per cent compared with this time last year. The significant increase in searches reflects greater concern from tenants about their energy bills, and increased interest in properties that can include bills within the monthly rent.

Tim Bannister, of Rightmove, said: ‘This year people searching for their next home have well and truly returned to the capital – we started to see the tide turning towards the end of last year, and throughout 2022 a lot of our trends in the market have started to head back towards where they were in 2019.

‘Tenants have shown through their search behaviour how appealing a home with bills included could be. Any landlord who is able to offer this added incentive next year, is likely to be met with an orderly queue of ready-to-go tenants to choose from.’