First-time buyer price hotspots revealed

• New analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals where first-time buyer prices are rising fastest across Great Britain  

• Bridlington in East Riding of Yorkshire (£167,321) and St Helens in Merseyside (£133,106) lead the way, with average asking prices up 18% compared to last year  

• Falkirk (+17% to £118,327) and Hartlepool (+12% to £104,76) also rank among the top hotspots for price rises this year 

• All the fastest-growing areas for price remain below £170,000, highlighting continued demand for more affordable homes, particularly in the north and Scotland 

• In contrast, several higher-priced southern markets, including Brighton and Southampton, are seeing first-time buyer prices ease compared to last year 

• The average asking price for a typical first-time buyer home in Great Britain is £228,048, down 0.7% year-on-year 

• St Albans in Hertfordshire is the most expensive area to buy a typical first-time buyer home (0-2 bedroom) (£401,352), while Middlesbrough is the least expensive (£90,929) 

 

New analysis from Rightmove, the UK’s largest property platform, reveals where first-time buyer prices are rising fastest across Great Britain.  

 

Bridlington in East Riding of Yorkshire (£167,321) and St Helens in Merseyside (£133,106) lead the way, with average asking prices up 18% compared to last year. 

 

Falkirk in Stirlingshire (+17% to £118,327) and Hartlepool (+12% to £104,276) follow closely behind. 

 

All of the fastest-growing locations in the analysis remain below the £170,000 asking price mark, underlining sustained demand for homes that are within reach for first-time buyers.  

 

Across Great Britain, the average asking price for a typical first-time buyer property (0-2 bedrooms) is now £228,048, which is 0.7% lower than this time last year. 

 

By contrast, some higher-priced southern markets are seeing more subdued conditions. Locations including Brighton and Southampton have recorded declines in first-time buyer asking prices this year, suggesting that affordability constraints and high levels of stock are prompting buyers to be more selective. 

At the top end of the market, St Albans in Hertfordshire is the most expensive area to buy a typical first-time buyer home, with the average asking price at £401,352. At the other end of the scale, Middlesbrough is the most affordable, at £90,929. 

Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert says: “Affordability continues to shape where first-time buyers are looking, and we’re seeing the strongest price growth in areas where homes remain within reach for more people. Lower-cost locations are still seeing strong interest, with competition for homes helping to hold prices up. In more expensive markets, tenants are taking a bit more time and thinking more carefully about what they can afford, which is keeping growth relatively flat.” 

 

 

Top 10 first-time buyer hotspots (fastest price growth) 

Area	Region	Average Price	Average Price YOY
Bridlington, East Riding Of Yorkshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	£167,321	18%
St. Helens, Merseyside	North West	£133,106	18%
Falkirk, Stirlingshire	Scotland	£118,311	17%
Hartlepool	North East	£104,276	12%
Dewsbury, West Yorkshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	£130,133	12%
Greenock, Inverclyde	Scotland	£93,998	11%
Inverness, Inverness-Shire	Scotland	£167,009	11%
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk	East of England	£149,315	9%
Blackburn, Lancashire	North West	£116,735	9%
Airdrie, Lanarkshire	Scotland	£106,472	8%

 

Top 10 first-time buyer hotspots (lowest price growth) 

Area	Region	Average Price	Average Price YOY
Exeter, Devon	South West	£201,248	-20%
Derby, Derbyshire	East Midlands	£143,043	-10%
Goring-By-Sea, Worthing, West Sussex	South East	£263,906	-9%
Doncaster, South Yorkshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	£109,477	-8%
Torquay, Devon	South West	£172,835	-8%
Motherwell, Lanarkshire	Scotland	£108,458	-7%
Southampton, Hampshire	South East	£187,443	-7%
Parkstone, Poole, Dorset	South West	£248,963	-7%
Hove, East Sussex	South East	£326,783	-5%
Poole, Dorset	South West	£244,175	-5%

 

Most expensive first-time buyer hotspots (outside London) 

Area	Region	Average Price	Average Price YOY
St. Albans, Hertfordshire	East of England	£401,352	2%
Epsom, Surrey	South East	£374,376	0%
Oxford, Oxfordshire	South East	£367,503	5%
Clifton, Bristol	South West	£365,338	-1%
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire	East of England	£351,126	1%
Brentwood, Essex	East of England	£347,844	7%
Hertford, Hertfordshire	East of England	£336,690	1%
Bath, Somerset	South West	£335,552	-4%
Wokingham, Berkshire	South East	£332,806	-1%
Hove, East Sussex	South East	£326,783	-5%

 

Cheapest first-time buyer hotspots (outside London) 

Area	Region	Average Price	Average Price YOY
Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire	North East	£90,929	-1%
Grimsby, Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	£92,031	2%
Kilmarnock, Ayrshire	Scotland	£92,380	4%
Greenock, Inverclyde	Scotland	£93,998	11%
Paisley, Renfrewshire	Scotland	£95,430	-2%
Irvine, Ayrshire	Scotland	£96,768	6%
Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire	Scotland	£97,002	2%
Stockton-On-Tees, Durham	North East	£97,680	-2%
Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside	North West	£100,179	2%
Burnley, Lancashire	North West	£100,734	0%

 

ENDS 

 

Notes to Editors:
 

• Rightmove analysed first-time buyer properties coming to market in May 2026 with at least 20 new listings and at least 20 sales agreed transactions 

• This analysis excludes London due to its significantly higher asking price levels, which can distort comparisons with the rest of Great Britain 

 

About Rightmove 

• Rightmove has the UK’s largest selection of properties for sale and to rent, adds more listings than anyone else 

• Latest view from Comscore is over 80% of all time spent on property portals is on Rightmove, and latest view from SimilarWeb is over 70% of time spent on property portals in the UK is on Rightmove (two datasets used across the industry to track time spent on portals) 

• Rightmove’s vision is to give everyone the belief that they can make their move by giving people the best place to turn and return to for access to tools and expertise to make it happen 

• Users can search Rightmove for residential resale, new homes, rentals, built for rent, commercial property and overseas properties. Rightmove also provide an extensive range of tools and information assisting their home moving journey, including but not limited to: local sold prices, online property valuation, agent visit requests, moving guides, mortgage in principle certification, renovation calculator, extension explorer, home services for renters like utilities, media and insurance, school information, moving guides and sustainability information 

• Partners (Rightmove’s customers) include the following key groups: estate agents, letting agents, new homes developers, rental operators, commercial property operators, overseas property agents, financial services operators and home services providers for insurance, utilities and media 

• Using the UK’s largest housing datasets, we issue a number of regular reports to track housing market indicators: our monthly House Price Index (established 2002), quarterly Rental Trends Tracker (established 2015), weekly Mortgage Rates Tracker (established 2023) and quarterly Commercial Insights Tracker (established 2024). Historical data is available on request 

• Founded in 2000, Rightmove listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2006 and is a member of the FTSE 100 index