Manchester is a bustling and culturally rich city and is becoming increasingly popular with young professionals as well as older generations. The city and surrounding area offer a lot – from world-class sporting entertainment to a rapidly developing economy and great prospects for investment. The property market similarly offers a lot for prospective buyers and investors.
Real estate in the city centre experiences fierce competition as with many other of the UK’s leading cities, but Greater Manchester provides a variety of options for people with all kinds of budgets. In this guide, we’ll give a basic rundown of the city’s housing market and where you might be able to narrow your search.
What’s the average property price?
The average property price in Manchester as of June 2022 was just over £225,000, increasing by nearly £20,000 since the year before. This is still well under half that of London, which comes in at well over £530,000. In comparison to other major populous hubs in the North and Midlands of England, it’s similar in average price to Birmingham and slightly cheaper than Leeds over the Pennines in Yorkshire. With all this in mind, Manchester appears to offer good value for money in comparison to other larger or similar-sized cities.
What areas are the cheapest and most expensive?
Manchester has a variety of wealthier areas where average house prices are well above the city’s average. Trafford is Manchester’s most expensive borough to live in, largely thanks to its exclusive and well-positioned villages home to football players, TV stars and other celebrities. Bowdon, Hale and Altrincham are all quite notorious places in this regard, and average house prices easily clear £500,000 and well above in some circumstances.
In terms of cheaper places to live, the north and northwest of the city have some of the lower house prices on the spectrum. Oldham, Bolton and other nearby towns in Greater Manchester are property hotspots because of the value available to buyers, and areas just inside the ring road are popular too because of the transport links into the city centre.
What types of properties are available?
In the city centre, you can find a range of property types, from high-end apartments in busy nightlife and shopping areas to new build houses on the way out of Manchester. Within the ring road, you can find amazing period properties, terraced housing and detached houses if you’re willing to pay the price. Greater Manchester offers even more variety with houses in the countryside or towns with excellent links to the city centre.