10 most in-demand locations for first-time buyers
- Glasgow tops the list as Great Britain’s most in-demand city for first-time buyers, with an average asking price just below £149,000
- Manchester and Edinburgh complete the top three, while Docklands, Hackney and Islington are London’s most sought-after locations
- The national average asking price for a typical first-time buyer property (two bedrooms or fewer) is £228,551
We analysed the 50 highest-populated cities in Great Britain to see where first-time buyers are looking to the most in 2025. We can reveal that Glasgow has been named Great Britain’s most in-demand city for first-time buyers. The average asking price for a typical first-time buyer property (two bedrooms or fewer) in the city is £148,979 – significantly below the national average first-time buyer asking price of £228,551.
Manchester takes second place with average asking prices just below £211,000, followed by Edinburgh at £251,000.
| Ranking | Location | Average asking price for a typical first-time buyer property |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glasgow | £148,979 |
| 2 | Manchester | £210,685 |
| 3 | Edinburgh | £251,088 |
| 4 | Leeds | £182,420 |
| 5 | Sheffield | £151,066 |
| 6 | Liverpool | £145,457 |
| 7 | Birmingham | £191,945 |
| 8 | Bristol | £283,342 |
| 9 | Nottingham | £161,359 |
| 10 | Southampton | £191,554 |
Our data shows a trend of first-time buyers looking towards northern cities, with five of the top 10 locations situated in the north of England. Leeds takes fourth place with an average asking price of £182,420, while Sheffield and Liverpool round out the top six.
Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham and Southampton complete the list, with Bristol having the highest average asking price among the top 10 at just above £283,000. You can read more about house prices in your local area in our monthly House Price Index.
10 London in-demand hotspots for first-time buyers
| Ranking | Location | Average asking price for a typical first-time buyer property |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Docklands | £503,607 |
| 2 | Hackney | £549,888 |
| 3 | Islington | £647,372 |
| 4 | Walthamstow | £431,222 |
| 5 | Battersea | £762,249 |
| 6 | Croydon | £301,606 |
| 7 | Sutton | £318,881 |
| 8 | Fulham | £720,897 |
| 9 | Clapham | £559,371 |
| 10 | Bromley | £366,177 |
For those looking to buy their first home in the capital, our data also shows the most sought-after areas for first-time buyers in London.
Docklands tops the list with an average asking price for a typical first-time buyer property at £503,607, followed by Hackney and Islington.
London’s average asking price for a first-time buyer home is £505,415 – this is more than double the national average, and over three times higher than the average in Scotland (£142,801).
Battersea and Fulham are the London locations with the highest average asking prices in the top 10, at £762,249 and £720,897 respectively. Croydon, Bromley and Sutton are three of the top 10 areas with average prices well below the London average.
Looking to buy your first home soon?
There are lots of things you can do to get ready for taking your first step onto the property ladder. Our guide to buying takes you through each part of the process, step-by-step.
And to make sure you see homes listed for sale that might fit what you’re looking for, setting up instant property alerts means you’ll be among the first to hear about new listings.
The header image for this article was provided courtesy of Vanilla Square, Glasgow
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