The UK towns boasting +80% house price growth amid nationwide drop
For the first time since 2023, UK house prices have dropped. However, many areas are bucking the recent news, with strong growth overall in the last 5 and 10 years.
The cash house buyers and property experts at Sell House Fast have compiled ‘The Property Prosperity Index’, revealing the best places to buy and sell property in the UK for 2026:
Top 10 Best Investment Potential Areas (Ranked by 5 Year Growth)
|
Rank |
City/Town |
Five Year House Price Increase |
10 Year House Price Increase |
Average Selling Time (Days) |
|
1 |
Blackburn with Darwen |
34.2% |
72.7% |
157 |
|
2 |
Wolverhampton |
30.9% |
69.5% |
198 |
|
3 |
Bolton |
30.1% |
73.5% |
234 |
|
4 |
Bradford |
29.3% |
58.2% |
185 |
|
5 |
Liverpool |
28.0% |
69.6% |
239 |
|
6 |
Kirklees |
25.7% |
55.4% |
239 |
|
7 |
Salford |
25.7% |
83.3% |
142 |
|
8 |
Warrington |
25.7% |
58.4% |
179 |
|
9 |
Stoke-on-Trent |
25.0% |
57.1% |
150 |
|
10 |
Middlesbrough |
24.9% |
32.2% |
191 |
The full ranking includes a prosperity score, average selling time, house price-to-salary ratio, and the % of salary used for a mortgage.
Jack Malnick, Managing Director at Sell House Fast, comments:
“There’s a tendency to assume that the strongest property markets are automatically the most expensive, but our findings show why that isn’t always the case.
“For buyers and landlords, strong historic growth is important, but so is the price you have to pay to enter the market. Homeowners also need to consider how quickly they may be able to sell and what an area offers day-to-day.
Key findings from the index reveal:
-
Blackburn with Darwen is the UK’s best place for property prosperity, with a score of 7.67/10.
-
Nine of the top 10 places are in northern England, including Warrington, Salford, Sunderland, Bolton, Liverpool, Newcastle upon Tyne, Bradford, and Blackpool.
-
Blackburn with Darwen has recorded the strongest five-year house-price growth, at 34.2%.
-
Salford has seen the strongest 10-year house-price growth, at 83.3%, and also has the shortest average selling time at 142 days.
-
Middlesbrough has the lowest house price-to-salary ratio, at 4.6, with an estimated mortgage using 26.5% of the average monthly salary.
-
London ranks last overall, scoring 1.80/10, with a house price-to-salary ratio of 13.7 and an estimated mortgage using 79.4% of the average monthly salary.
Jack continues, saying:
“What is particularly interesting here is that affordability isn’t necessarily coming at the expense of growth. Several of the northern locations that rank highly have also seen substantial house price increases over the past five or 10 years.
“For existing homeowners, that combination can also be important when considering whether to stay in an area, move elsewhere or release equity from a property.”
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