These are Britain’s most active housing markets
New research from The Property DriveBuy reveals that the busiest homebuying postcodes in Britain right now are found in Croydon, Buckinghamshire and Waltham Forest, however, for those hopeful homebuyers facing tough competition, shifting to a neighbouring postcode could see them secure a property.
The Property DriveBuy analysed latest housing market data to discover which of Britain’s postcodes saw the most property sales across the month of August – a traditionally quiet time of year due to the summer slowdown.
Busiest postcodes for homebuyer activity
The analysis shows that the busiest market in Britain is the CRO postcode district of Croydon, South London and in August alone, there were no less than 114 residential sales within the boundaries of this one postcode.
The SL6 postcode district, which covers Maidenhead and its neighbouring areas in Buckinghamshire, saw a total of 88 August sales, while East London’s E17 (Waltham Forest) ranks third with 87 sales.
The top five busiest British housing markets are rounded off by the BS16 postcode in Bristol and IV2 in the Scottish Highlands, each with 79 sales apiece.
The rest of the top 10 is populated by Charnwood’s LE12 (79), Brighton’s BN2 (78) and BN3 (78), South Lanarkshire’s ML3 (76), and SW18 in Wandsworth, London (76).
Switching postcodes could help buyers
A particularly valuable insight provided by this analysis is the vast difference in market demand between neighbouring postcode districts. This means buyers who are struggling to find a property in their desired area due to the fact that it’s incredibly competitive, could simply look across the road into the neighbouring postcode district and give themselves a much better chance of securing a property.
For example, Croydon’s CRO district is the busiest in the nation with 114 sales in August alone. However, in the neighbouring CR2 postcode district, there were just 44 sales in August, demonstrating a much less competitive market just a stone’s throw from the nation’s busiest pocket of the property market.
Busiest postcodes for market activity by region
London
CRO, Croydon – 114 sales
South East
SL6, Maidenhead, Buckinghamshire – 88 sales
East Midlands
LE12, Charnwood, North West Leicestershire – 79 sales
South West
BS16, Bristol, South Gloucestershire – 79 sales
Scotland
IV2, Inverness, the Highlands – 79 sales
North West
PR4, Preston, West Lancashire – 72 sales
East of England
LU7, Central Bedfordshire – 71 sales
West Midlands
CV3. Coventry/Rugby/Warwick – 64 sales
Yorkshire & Humber
S6, Sheffield – 58 sales
Wales
CF14, Cardiff – 58 sales
North East
DH8, County Durham, Northumberland – 49 sales
Steve Foreman, Founder and CEO of The Property DriveBuy, commented:
“This research offers a compelling snapshot of the UK property market as it stands today. What’s particularly striking is the geography of the most active areas, with Croydon in South London leading the way, closely followed by locations such as Maidenhead and Waltham Forest. These are all areas known for their excellent commuter links, diverse housing stock, and ongoing investment in infrastructure and regeneration. However, there are pockets of heightened activity across the nation and this highlights both the regional differences and more granular postcode trends that drive property market performance.
The data also shows the sharp contrasts in activity between neighbouring postcode districts, as seen in Croydon’s CR0 and CR2. For buyers facing fierce competition in CR0, simply considering homes in the CR2 postcode, potentially just a street or two away, could uncover opportunities they hadn’t previously considered, all without leaving their preferred area. This is one of the key reasons that we designed the Property DriveBuy, so that homebuyers can discover properties they may not have previously considered, simply by exploring a little further afield than they may have originally planned.
Overall, this August snapshot suggests that, despite broader economic headwinds, buyers remain highly motivated in areas where value meets quality of life. It reinforces the idea that localised demand, often shaped by access to jobs and visible long-term investment, continues to underpin the resilience of the UK housing market.”
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