Northern Cities in England sell up to 2,200 detached houses annually, which is considerably more than detached property sales in the South, New Open Property Group research found.
Using the latest ‘House Price Statistics’ data, it found that detached property sales in Leeds totalled 2,296 throughout the year of 2021, in comparison to Portsmouth which only sold 114 detached properties during the same time period.
Currently, Wakefield is averaging annual detached property sales of 1,341 with Sheffield closely behind selling 1,107 detached houses during 2021.
Stoke-on-Trent saw the biggest detached property sales increase over a 10-year period, of 181%. In 2021, detached house sales amounted to 1,028, in comparison to the 365 detached houses sold in Stoke-on-Trent in 2011.
At the other end of scale, Cambridge and Oxford’s 2021 detached property sales were 152 and 154 respectively.
Interestingly, Oxford was the only city which experienced an annual decrease in detached property sales (of 0.6%) when comparing sales in 2021 to 2011.
What does this mean for the North-South divide in terms of property stock and the growing desire to relocate further up north?
Openpropertygroup.com managing director, Jason Harris-Cohen said: “The Government’s Northern Powerhouse project – its vision for a super-connected, globally-competitive Northern economy – has allowed many Northern cities to evolve quickly and the advancements haven’t gone unnoticed. Increased opportunities and a lower cost of living in the North has turned the heads of many home movers, especially Southerners, as prices have become unaffordable to upsize where they currently live and now have the flexibility to work remotely.”
“When it comes to moving home, much has been made of the ‘race for space’ over the last 2 years but our analysis clearly shows that the phenomenon is real. Increased buyer traffic is moving North.
“Purchasers are lapping up the ability to buy a detached property somewhere in Leeds or Birmingham, for example, for the same price as a one-bedroom flat in parts of London or the Home Counties,” he added.
“The sale of detached properties in Northern cities has also been bolstered by landlords chasing the best returns. Recent analysis found the UK’s best yields were the North East (8.7%); Yorkshire and Humberside (both 7.5%) and the North West (6.7%).
It’s a no-brainer if landlords can sell a Southern-based investment, turn a profit, and reinvest in a detached buy-to-let in the North, with a better yield and money to spare,” he concluded.
2021/2022 Cities in England: Detached Property Sales
| Cities | 2011 Year-End Number of Detached Properties Sold | 2021 Year-End Number of Detached Properties Sold | 10-Year Annual Percentage Increase/Decrease |
| Leeds | 1,306 | 2,296 | 76% |
| Wakefield | 646 | 1,341 | 107% |
| Birmingham | 983 | 1,307 | 33% |
| Sheffield | 795 | 1,107 | 39% |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 365 | 1,028 | 181% |
| Derby | 740 | 959 | 30% |
| Peterborough | 692 | 935 | 35% |
| York | 601 | 708 | 18% |
| St Albans | 546 | 591 | 8% |
| Newcastle Upon Tyne | 287 | 578 | 101% |
| Brighton | 437 | 575 | 32% |
| Nottingham | 412 | 537 | 30% |
| Sunderland | 302 | 523 | 73% |
| Carlisle | 295 | 522 | 77% |
| Wolverhampton | 364 | 522 | 43% |
| Lancaster | 311 | 507 | 63% |
| Coventry | 334 | 492 | 47% |
| Plymouth | 365 | 482 | 32% |
| Gloucester | 348 | 427 | 22% |
| Worcester | 319 | 405 | 27% |
| Liverpool | 262 | 404 | 54% |
| Salford | 233 | 377 | 62% |
| Leicester | 346 | 360 | 4% |
| Bristol | 281 | 350 | 24% |
| Exeter | 239 | 318 | 33% |
| Norwich | 235 | 253 | 8% |
| Manchester | 205 | 229 | 12% |
| Oxford | 155 | 154 | 0.6% decrease |
| Cambridge | 181 | 152 | 16% |
| Portsmouth | 92 | 114 | 24% |
