Birmingham named one of UK's most desirable cities to buy a home & ranks higher than Manchester & Edinburgh

A new study has revealed the cities in the UK that are the most desirable for people looking to buy a home.

The data shows that Birmingham is among the most popular British cities for future homeowners, sitting ahead of other major cities, including Manchester and Edinburgh.

The study, conducted by the online calculator tool The Calculator Site, examined online search data for each UK city, including ‘property for sale in and ‘houses for sale in’, from the tool Google Keyword Planner. The cities with the highest monthly search volume are listed to determine the most popular locations for homeowners.

Which cities came out on top?

London takes the crown as the most desirable city to live in. England’s capital has an average monthly search volume of 55,192 for the combined terms; ‘London houses for sale’ is the most popular search term, with 30,767 searches over the last 12 months.

In second place is Glasgow, a city known for its diverse art scene and friendly locals. ‘Glasgow flats for sale’ is the city’s highest volume in the study, with 9,783 average monthly searches over the last 12 months. Overall, the Scottish city has 49,342 average monthly searches for property-related key terms.

Birmingham takes the bronze medal. Our city,of course, has great accessible transport links to the rest of the U.K. and a wealth of cultural diversity, making prospective homeowners search for Birmingham property-related key terms 7,900 times per month. ‘Birmingham houses for sale’ is the most used term, with 30,717 average monthly searches over the last 12 months.

Birmingham sits ahead of Edinburgh, which had a total of 36,342 monthly searches and also Sheffield (36,283) and Manchester (32,867). 

According to the study, prospective homeowners have searched for Edinburgh property-related terms 36,342 times per month, including ‘houses in Edinburgh for sale’, with the highest average monthly search volume at 24,308.

And Manchester has an average monthly search volume of 32,867 for property-related key terms. ‘Houses for sale in Manchester’ is the study’s most popular search term for the city, with its delicious food scene and booming nightlife attracting future homeowners across the U.K.

The top 10 most desirable cities

Our table here shows the top 10, based on the research.

What's been said about the data?

Alastair Hazell of The Calculator Site, said: “This study highlights the most sought-after cities for expectant homeowners, according to research based on the public’s search volume. London takes the number one spot, no doubt due to its wealth of career opportunities, transport links and multicultural landscapes.

It’s interesting to see a variety of locations making it in the top ten most desirable cities to live in, from Swansea in southwestern Wales to the Inverness in the Scottish Highlands, suggesting that people are also eager to move to smaller, less populated cities across the U.K.”