Two Yorkshire locations feature in the top ten most searched for places to live in the UK

Searches for London increased by nine per cent compared with last year, while searches for Cornwall dropped by 18 per cent, and by 17 per cent in Devon. London estate agents have reported a growth in buyer interest and the fact that prices have not returned to pre-pandemic levels in most areas is fuelling viewings.

Livingston in West Lothian, Scotland is this year’s quickest market with homes in the area finding a buyer in an average of just over two weeks. All of the top five areas are in Scotland, with Bo’ness, West Lothian in second place and Larbert, Stirlingshire in third.

The small village of Picket Piece in Hampshire is the quickest market outside of Scotland. Sellers in this rural idyll found buyers in an average of 16 days.

Rightmove’s analysis of the rental market shows that it has been the most competitive on record. At its peak, there were quadruple the number of tenants enquiring about properties to move to, as there were properties to rent.

The portal’s market data on buyer, seller, tenant and landlord behaviour has also tracked shifts in what tenants are looking for this year.

Tenant searches for bills are up 57 per cent compared with this time last year. This reflects greater concern from tenants about their energy bills, and increased interest in properties that can include bills within the monthly rent.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert says: “This year people searching for their next home have well and truly returned to the capital – we started to see the tide turning towards the end of last year, and throughout 2022 a lot of our trends in the market have started to head back towards where they were in 2019.

“As we head into the festive period, we’re anticipating our traditional boxing day bounce in search activity, where more future home-movers log onto Rightmove after spending Christmas with friends and family, and begin thinking about where they could live next year. We’re hearing from agents that they are getting properties ready for sale to go live on Boxing Day, ready to capture the attention of those beginning their search through to the traditionally busier January period. We’ve seen a group of people using the past few months to assess their options and consider what they can afford, and they could be spurred on next year should fixed-rate mortgages drop as anticipated.

“Tenants have shown through their search behaviour how appealing a home with bills included could be. Any landlord who is able to offer this added incentive next year, is likely to be met with an orderly queue of ready-to-go tenants to choose from.”