Falkirk tops UK's commuter house price boom as buyers shun traditional hotspots
Commuter towns around Glasgow and Manchester are now outperforming many of the UK’s expensive markets around London
Falkirk has become the UK’s hottest commuter property market after house prices there surged by more than 13 per cent in a year.
The Central Belt town recorded the strongest annual growth in average asking prices of any commuter hotspot analysed by company Rightmove, with values climbing 13.5 per cent to £183,596.
The property website, Rightmove, said commuter towns around Glasgow and Manchester are now outperforming many of the UK’s traditionally desirable, and usually far more expensive, markets around London, where prices are falling in several well-known hotspots.
Falkirk led the rankings, while a string of other Scottish towns also featured among the fastest-growing commuter markets. Wishaw, Greenock, Hamilton, East Kilbride and Dumbarton all made the top 15, highlighting strong demand around Glasgow for homes offering better value than the city itself.
Rightmove’s analysis of commuter locations around London, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff found a widening north-south divide. Buyers are increasingly seeking larger homes and lower prices within commuting distance of major cities, while some of the country’s priciest commuter belts are seeing a downturn in cost.
Clark Gillespie, director of Forth and Clyde Property, said Falkirk’s appeal lay in its affordability, transport links and family amenities, making it an increasingly attractive alternative for commuters travelling to both Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, was the second-fastest growing commuter market, with asking prices up 8.7 per cent to £238,115, followed by Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, where prices rose 8.1 per cent despite an average asking price of £654,263.
By contrast, Haywards Heath in West Sussex saw the steepest annual fall, with asking prices down 4.8 per cent to £461,066. Maidenhead fell 3.9 per cent and Bath dropped 3.8 per cent.
Prices have also weakened in London itself, according to Rightmove, where average asking prices fell 3.1 per cent over the year to £646,451. Birmingham and Bristol both recorded annual declines of 0.6 per cent.
Glasgow bucked that trend, with asking prices in the city rising 2.9 per cent to £191,530, although growth in many surrounding commuter towns was considerably stronger.
Colleen Babcock, a property expert at Rightmove, said the market was telling “two very different stories”.
“In the more affordable locations around Glasgow and Manchester, asking prices are rising strongly as buyers look for value within reach of major cities,” she said.
“Meanwhile, some of the more expensive commuter hotspots are seeing prices ease, creating opportunities for buyers who may previously have been priced out.”
Ian Harris, president of Propertymark, the leading professional body for property agents in the UK, said commuter demand had shifted again after the pandemic-era rush to more rural living.
“Many people are now looking for a hybrid location that offers easy commuter access to key cities while also providing the benefits of living outside them,” he said.
Rightmove said its research covered commuter locations around the six cities analysed, rather than every commuter town in the UK.
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