Paisley named Britain's top property hotspot

Paisley in central Scotland has been identified as Britain's top property hotspot, with asking prices there surging by 15% over the past year.

Lancaster and Wigan in northern England rounded off the top three places in the list, compiled by Rightmove.

London was excluded from the main research. The strongest asking price growth in London was in West Norwood, where asking prices increased by 12% annually - a slower rate than in Paisley but matching the 12% growth also recorded in Lancaster and Wigan.

Rightmove said local estate agents in Paisley, close to Glasgow, report that access to nature and green spaces may have contributed to the rising prices.

Both of these attributes are said to have become more important to some home movers during coronavirus lockdowns.

Curtis Chisholm, director at Cochran Dickie estate agency, said: "The demand for Paisley can be attributed to the fact that you can get more for your money here than in Glasgow's West End or South Side, especially with the ease of commuting coupled with quality homes in very desirable addresses.

"Paisley is a very historical town with fabulous culture.''

The average asking price of a home in Paisley is currently £126,903, which is £16,183 more expensive than a year ago.

However, average asking prices in the town are £191,677 cheaper than the average across Britain, at £318,580. They are also £34,619 cheaper than the average across Scotland of £161,522.

Joel Edgerton, director at Regan & Hallworth in Wigan, said: "Wigan has undoubtedly seen huge price growth, especially towards the end of last year when the market was absolutely booming. I've been an estate agent in Wigan - the land of the pies - for 23 years and it was probably the busiest six months I've ever known the market to be.''

He added: "The town has really remodelled its image of late and the council has tried to rebrand the town with a more modern feel, but we're still a dead friendly town and a proper northern town in that respect.''

All of the top 10 price hotspots outside London have average asking prices that are cheaper than the average across Britain.

The most expensive location on the list is Newquay in Cornwall, with average asking prices at £294,381.

Within London, Chelsea (11% annual increase) and Purley (9% annual increase) came in second and third place respectively, after West Norwood.

Rightmove's director of property data Tim Bannister said: "Demand for property in Paisley is very high at the moment, with searches for homes to buy in the town having risen by 44% compared to this time last year.

"Naturally, demand leads to rising prices and with swathes of rolling countryside on the doorstep, it makes sense that Paisley is such a popular destination for home movers looking for more space.

"With regards to the other price hotspots in our table, it's interesting that places in the North West are continuing to perform really strongly.

"A recent study of ours found that the biggest 'winners' for property prices for all of 2020 were suburban areas in the North West, especially towns near Liverpool and Manchester, and this latest research illustrates that this trend is very much still alive.''