Zoopla reveals buyer behaviour in Property for 2024

2024 in Property: Zoopla reveals buyer behaviour and user trends over the past 12 months, after the busiest sales pipeline in four years

 

  • Disney-themed property in Wales is the most viewed property on Zoopla in 2024 with 219,000 views

  • The average time to sell in 2024 was 33 days, down from 34 days in 2023

  • Three-bed semi-detached properties are the most popular property type

  • Falkirk in Scotland was the UK’s fastest moving market with a time to sell of 15 days

  • May was the most popular month to list a property for sale, while January was the month with the most visitors to Zoopla.co.uk

  • ‘Study’ and ‘In need of modernisation’ enter the top 100 most-searched-for keywords on Zoopla in 2024

  • In 2025, Zoopla predicts that house prices will grow by 2.5 per cent and end the year with 1.15m property transactions

 

Friday 6th December 2024, LONDON: With the property market set to finish the year with 1.1m sales completions (10 per cent higher than 2023), Zoopla, one of the UK’s leading property websites has revealed key user trends and buyer behaviour over the past 12 months.

Disney-themed delight: the most viewed property of 2024

The most viewed property in 2024, was a Disney-themed property in Rhyl, Wales which went viral in September. The nondescript three-bed semi-detached home with an incredible Disney interior was viewed on Zoopla an incredible 219,000 times.

Other properties on the most viewed list for 2024 include a three-bed terraced home in Horley, Surrey for £280,000 and a cosy two-bed terraced home in Barry, Wales, located on the famous Gavin and Stacey road.

The most expensive property sold on Zoopla 2024 was located in Beverly Hills, California and was listed on Zoopla for a whopping £67,615,715. The property, which wouldn’t look out of place in the Netflix smash hit series ‘Selling Sunset’ benefits from an infinity pool, 15 bathrooms and expansive views overlooking Los Angeles.

In the UK, the most expensive property sold was a Grosvenor Crescent, London listed on Zoopla for £65,000,000. Located in one of the country’s most prestigious addresses, the property features six en-suite bedrooms, a chef’s kitchen and spa.

Which months saw the most housing market interest and activity?

When it came to browsing Zoopla.co.uk, January was the most popular month for visitors to the Zoopla website, followed by March and February. This aligns with the ‘Boxing Day Bounce’ on the 26th of December and the new year which traditionally drives an increase in property searches as people start looking for a new home at the beginning of the year. 2024 also saw an increase in the popularity of floorplans on Zoopla listings, with 80 per cent of buyers heading to the floorplan of a property before the photos.

May was the most popular month to list a home for sale on Zoopla, with summer the most popular time of year for house viewings and moves, while according to HMRC, August was the busiest month of the year for completions with 104,740 property transactions completed in the UK with a value of £40,000 or more.

Scottish areas have the speediest time to sell in 2024

The average time to sell in 2024 was 33 days, down from 34 days in 2023, with three-bed semi-detached properties the most popular property type.

Falkirk takes the crown as the fastest-moving property market in the UK, with a time to sell of just 15 days, followed by Glasgow City (16 days) and West Lothian (17 days). All of the top five fastest-moving markets are located in Scotland, where properties are listed with a valuation and survey upfront, driving speedier agreements on sales.

Liverpool was the fastest-moving market in England and Wales with a time to sell of 19 days, followed by Manchester (23 days) and the London borough of Waltham Forest (25 days).

 

Table 1: Fastest moving markets (UK-wide)

Local authority

Time to sell (days)

Falkirk

15

Glasgow City

16

West Lothian

17

East Renfrewshire

17

South Lanarkshire

18

Source: Zoopla

 

Table 2: Fastest moving markets In England and Wales

Local authority

Time to sell (days)

Liverpool

19

Manchester

23

Waltham Forest

25

Salford

27

Newcastle upon Tyne

27

Source: Zoopla

 

Trending keywords on Zoopla in 2024, ‘freehold’ takes the crown for the second year running

When looking at on-site searches, ‘freehold’ takes the top spot for keyword searches on Zoopla.co.uk for the second year in a row, with ‘cottage’ and ‘double garage’ new entries to the top five.

 

Table 3: Top keyword searches in 2023 and 2024

2024

2023

Freehold

Freehold

Garage

Garage

Annexe

Annexe

Cottage

Acre

Double Garage

Garden

Rural

Pool

Pool

Cottage

Acre

Rural

Conservatory

Seaview

Ensuite

Ensuite

Source: Zoopla

 

Meanwhile, new entries into the top 100 most searched-for keywords in 2024 include ‘in need of modernisation’ which moved up a huge 134 places to 53rd place, and study, which moved up 22 places and now ranks in 88th place.

To make it easier for visitors to Zoopla.co.uk to find properties that suit their needs, Zoopla also rolled out 16 new filters in 2024. The filters, which are enhanced by AI, allow Zoopla users to filter by feature including the number of bathrooms and bedrooms.

The house price winners and losers

When it comes to the most expensive and cheapest local authorities to purchase a home, the borough of Kensington and Chelsea retains the crown as the most expensive local authority in the UK in 2024 with an average house price of £1,132,100, ten times more expensive than the cheapest local authority of Inverclyde, which has an average house price of £105,800.

 

Table 4: Most expensive  and cheapest local authorities to purchase a home in 2024

Position

Most expensive

Least expensive

1

Kensington & Chelsea

Inverclyde

2

City of Westminster

East Ayrshire

3

Camden

West Dunbartonshire

4

City of London

Hartlepool

5

Richmond Upon Thames

Hull

6

Hammersmith

North Ayrshire

7

Elmbridge

Middlesborough

8

South Bucks

Burnley

9

Wandsworth

Sunderland

10

Islington

Blackpool

Source: Zoopla

 

Moving to the rental market, local authorities in London again dominate the most expensive list with the borough of Kensington and Chelsea the UK’s most expensive place to rent a home with an average rent of £3,518 pcm, almost triple the UK average of £1,270.

Hartlepool in County Durham was the cheapest place to rent a property in 2024 with an average rent of £564 pcm. This was followed by the Scottish local authorities of Dumfries and Galloway (£571 pcm) and East Ayrshire (£579 pcm).

 

Table 5: Most expensive and cheapest local authorities to rent a home in 2024

Position

Most expensive

Least expensive

1

Kensington & Chelsea

Hartlepool

2

City of Westminster

Dumfries and Galloway

3

Camden

East Ayrshire

4

City of London

Burnley

5

Hammersmith & Fulham

County Durham

6

Islington

Pendle District

7

Wandsworth

Allerdale District

8

Hackney

Redcar and Cleveland

9

Tower Hamlets

City of Kingston upon Hull

10

Southwark

Hyndburn District

Source: Zoopla

 

From Shetland to Cornwall: Britain’s most northern and southern property sales

The property sold the furthest north in the UK in 2024 was a cosy two-bed property on the island of Unst, Britain’s most northerly inhabited island and part of the Shetland Islands. Listed for £105,000, the property benefits from an acre plot of land, and is also located near Unst’s only school.

At the opposite end of the country, a three-bed property in Lizard, Cornwall, listed for £455,000, was the most southerly property sold on Zoopla in 2024. Lizard provides easy access to spectacular coastal walks along dramatic cliffs and beautiful beaches.

 

What’s next for the housing market in 2025?

Zoopla expects the current momentum in sales to continue into 2025 and predicts an uptick in sales completions from 1.1m in 2024 to 1.5m in 2025. This will be driven by improvements in affordability and growth in incomes which will encourage more home moves.

First-time buyers will remain the largest buyer group supporting housing chains and unlocking moves for existing homeowners. When it comes to house price growth, Zoopla predicts a 2.5 per cent increase in 2025.

EAN Breaking News

Breaking News from the team at Estate Agent Networking. Have a new story to share with us? Then please get in contact today! When and where we can we will refer to third party websites with a 'live link back' where news was released first.

You May Also Enjoy

Home and Living

High Quality Modular Homes for the UK

Are you looking for added accommodation space in your garden / on your land? Modular Living Homes by tutumHOUSE offer a new way to live – minimalist in form, rich in experience. “There are approximately 9.6 million homes in the UK with a garden shed, and around 52% of the population owns one.” asgardsss There…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

The most stressful places to move to in the UK

With more people in the UK moving homes during summer than any other season and the average cost of moving in the UK rising to over £14,000, picking the right place to move to has become more crucial than ever. Luckily, new research from Pay Less for Storage reveals the UK cities that make life easiest…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Time-Traveling Estate Agent Sequel Climbs Amazon Charts

A UK Estate Agent Currently Bringing Joy to People’s Lives – Shame He’s Fictional…   Eric Meek, the fictional estate agent created by author Dale Bradford, is back for a second outing in The Time‑Travelling Estate Agent 2, a sequel that is already climbing Amazon’s bestselling time‑travel rankings. Estate agents were recently highlighted as the third…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Is it finally time for lenders to back green homes?

Andrew Smith weighs the risks and rewards Property developers are increasingly pitching green homes to lenders; however, with sales cycles slowing down and repair costs rising, is now the right time to back sustainable builds and at what price point is there market demand? Sustainability is continuing to shape our future of construction with the…
Read More
new build homes colchester essex
Breaking News

UK Housebuilding Falters as Construction Hiring Flatlines

New research from Inventory Base reveals that UK construction industry employment has increased by almost 11% in the past five years, but there has been less than 1% growth in the past 12 months. Inventory Base’s analysis of the UK construction industry shows that in 2024 (latest data available) it employed an estimated total of…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Making Small Office Spaces Feel Much Larger

Small offices can often seem tight, making it hard for employees to work comfortably. Not enough space may lower mood and affect how well people do their jobs. Good design choices, though, help any small workspace feel bigger, brighter, and easy to move around in. How a space is perceived can often influence comfort and…
Read More