Article Summary

The UK has seen incredible house price growth over the past two decades. Across the country, the average house price is now four times as much as it was in 2002. But some cities have seen higher performance than others.

New research by Plumbnation has revealed how Manchester and Salford top all other UK cities when it comes to house price rises over the past 20 years. In fact, the study is dominated by northern cities, proving again that the north is the best area to invest in property in the UK.

Manchester in first place

Plumbnation carried out their research by using Office for National Statistics data to compare 2002 house prices with those in 2022. Looking at cities all over the UK, they ranked the percentage growth to understand which had increased the most.

In first place was Manchester, where house prices have skyrocketed by a massive 331.26% in the last two decades. People buying an average property investment in Manchester in 2002 would have paid just £48,845 for it. Today, that same property would be worth £210,647 – a £161,802 increase.

And inflation alone can’t be used to explain this rise. Using the average annual inflation rate, the property would equate to just £84,549 today.

Salford comes in second

In second place is Salford. This area of Greater Manchester is becoming one of the UK’s hotspots to invest in property.

Since 2002, the average property price here has risen by 289.68%. 20 years ago, the average property price would have been £50,567, whereas now it would come to £197,047.

But Manchester and Salford aren’t the only places whose property markets have exploded over the past two decades. All but one of the cities that topped the list were northern and included Leicester, Hull, Stoke-on-Trent, Sheffield and Liverpool. Bristol was the only southern city to make an appearance.

Healthy rental rises

The price rises in both Manchester and Salford reflect their growing popularity as places to live, work and invest in property. In fact, property investments in Manchester are currently in such high demand from both tenants and investors that rental prices in the north west grew faster than any other region between February and March 2022.

As of March 2022, the average rent in the north west was £819.84 per month, compared with £770.82 in February, according to Goodlord.

What is property investment?

Put simply, property investment is property purchased with the intention of generating financial returns for its buyer. These returns could be in the form of rental income through buy-to-let properties, house price growth through the future sale of the property or both. Individuals or organisations and can invest in property and these investments can be short, long or medium term.

Contact us

If you’re interested in investing in property, get in touch with North Property Group today and find your next property investment in Manchester or Salford.