In This Article:
Housing markets in Scotland and Northern England are poised for the strongest house price growth in 2025, according to a new report from property website Zoopla.
The Motherwell postal area in Scotland is set to see the most significant price growth, with average house prices currently standing at £129,000 and rising at an above-average rate of 3.8%.
Alongside Motherwell, the top five housing markets in the UK are all based in Eastern Scotland, encompassing the Glasgow metropolitan area, including Paisley, Falkirk, Kirkcaldy, and Glasgow itself.
Scotland's housing market benefits from more affordable prices relative to incomes, with properties also selling more quickly than in other parts of the UK due to differences in the home-selling process. Even after excluding the speed of sales from the analysis, Scotland still dominates the rankings, claiming eight of the top 10 positions.
Read more: Best UK mortgage deals of the week
While Motherwell leads the growth, other areas such as Falkirk are also seeing robust growth, with house prices rising by 3.5% compared to the Scottish average of 2.6%.
On the other end of the spectrum, Aberdeen finds itself at the bottom of the rankings. The city’s housing market has been under pressure, with slower growth attributed to reduced investment in the oil and gas sector, a key driver of the local economy.
In England, the most promising markets are found in Northern regions, with Newcastle, Leeds, Stoke-on-Trent, Wigan, and Carlisle emerging as top performers. House prices in these areas are expected to rise between 2% and 5% in 2025.
Wolverhampton also stands out for its relative affordability, with house prices averaging just over £201,000 — 13% below the West Midlands average. This makes the area an attractive proposition for homebuyers seeking better value.
At the other end of the spectrum, central, south-west, north-west, and west London remain at the bottom of the rankings, with average house prices exceeding £635,000 — more than double the UK average.
While London’s housing market has faced challenges in recent years, Zoopla’s report suggests that prospects are improving, with value for money gradually returning to the capital’s property market after a decade of below-average growth.
Other areas of London are higher in the rankings as house prices are lower and more accessible to a wider range of buyers. The highest-ranked is Sutton in outer South London, with a time to sell of 33 days and just 14% of homes seeing asking price reductions compared to almost 20% in London.
Some coastal towns in Southern England like Bournemouth and Torquay also sit in the bottom 10 markets due to a reversal of pandemic factors and incoming tax changes on second homes. Others are in closer proximity to London, including Tunbridge Wells and Canterbury, where prices grew quickly over the pandemic and local markets are adjusting to higher mortgage rates.