Press Release: 00062

5 February 2008

Towns League Table - January 2008

Source: http://www.ukpropertyshop.co.uk

If the press headlines are to be believed, the UK residential housing market is in a state of terminal decline, with house prices plummeting and repossessions soaring - despite the fact that average prices are still higher than this time last year. And although the number of homes being repossessed does unfortunately seem to be rising, this is from an unusually low base last year, when there were even fewer repossessions than had been predicted.

Even for seasoned analysts, the plethora of statistics based on real data can also be a source of confusion, due to the many different ways that such information can be presented. For example, are the figures based on the asking prices of property being offered for sale today, or the actual sale prices that are recorded by the Land Registry, where the sales were probably agreed up to six months ago? To make it even more complicated, some authorities give you the figures straight, whereas others adjust the figures using sophisticated statistical techniques so as to take account of seasonal variations. Further details can be found on our
House Price Indexes page.

What tends to happen in times of uncertainty is that people sit tight and do nothing, waiting to see what happens next. This has the effect of reducing the number of properties coming onto the market, which means there is less choice for buyers and therefore no reason to move home. This can easily lead to a spiralling decline, where a falling property market becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. The way out of this is simply for more of us to put our houses on the market, at sensible prices, in order to stimulate demand and get things moving.

Well, the Moving Location Index towns league table for January shows that buyers have been especially active in Plymouth, Bath and Bournemouth. These are of course locations especially favoured by those of thinking of retiring or buying second homes, but also attract buy-to-let investors because of the demand for student rental accommodation. Although the number of enquiries is not as great at this time last year, there has still been a surge in enquiries compared with December.

Moving Location Index (Towns) - January 2008

Rank	Town	County	Points
1	Plymouth	Devon	239
2	Bath	Somerset	230
3	Bournemouth	Dorset	226
4	Leamington Spa	Warwickshire	144
5	Aberdeen	Aberdeenshire	131
6	Eastbourne	Sussex	123
7	Taunton	Somerset	118
8	Newquay	Cornwall	116
9	Lincoln	Lincolnshire	111
10	Norwich	Norfolk	108
11	Kingston upon Thames	Greater London	104
12	Ormskirk	Lancashire	101
13	Worcester	Worcestershire	100
14	Weymouth	Dorset	79
15	Aberystwyth	Ceredigion	77
16	St Andrews	Fife	69
17	Dumfries	Dumfries & Galloway	67
18	Skegness	Lincolnshire	66
19	Bedford	Bedfordshire	66
20	Inverness	Highland	61
21	Kirkintilloch	Dunbartonshire	61
22	Isles of Scilly	Cornwall	60
23	Stirling	Stirling	58
24	Truro	Cornwall	56
25	Blackpool	Lancashire	54
26	Ayr	Ayrshire	54
27	Dundee	Angus	54
28	Hertford	Hertfordshire	51
29	Shrewsbury	Shropshire	50
30	Orkney	Scottish Islands	50
31	Richmond-upon-Thames	Greater London	50
32	Chester	Cheshire	49
33	Guildford	Surrey	45
34	Petersfield	Hampshire	42
35	Jersey	Channel Islands	42
36	Porthcawl	Bridgend	42
37	Oban	Argyll & Bute	41
38	Windermere	Cumbria	41
39	Guernsey	Channel Islands	41
40	Alfreton	Derbyshire	41
41	Lewes	Sussex	40
42	Hayle	Cornwall	40
43	Newton-le-Willows	Merseyside	40
44	Bakewell	Derbyshire	40
45	Isle of Arran	Scottish Islands	40
46	York	Yorkshire	37
47	Southport	Merseyside	37
48	Greenock	Inverclyde	36
49	Paignton	Devon	36
50	Salisbury	Wiltshire	35

Note for Editors about the Moving Location Index and UK Property Shop

The UK Property Shop Moving Location Index is based on data from a sample of people looking to buy a property and using the website to register their property search requirements with estate agents in each town. From this data a score is calculated according to the number who are considering either moving within the town where they live, or away from their home town and into another town. The Moving Location Index is not a measure of quality, simply an indication of the relative proportion of home buyers wishing to move into or out of a town, which is influenced by many factors.

The UK Property Shop website www.ukpropertyshop.co.uk was launched in 1999 and is a popular source of information for people looking to buy, sell, rent or let residential property in the UK. It also publishes the National Directory of Estate Agents, the most complete and up to date register of all UK estate agents and letting agents.