Moving platform getamover.co.uk/ analysed Google search data for over 170 terms relating to property portals like Rightmove, Zoopla, and PropertyPal, as well as relevant phrases such as 'property to rent', 'house for sale' and 'find a property'. The monthly search volumes were totalled and averaged for every city in the UK, then ranked per 100,000 residents to unveil the places with the highest interest in relocating.
As the UK city most interested in moving house, Northern Ireland's Lisburn had an average of 37,670 house move searches each month per 100,000. The most popular search term among the city's residents was for regional estate agent 'PropertyPal', which represented over 67 per cent of the average monthly searches.
Bangor in Northern Ireland narrowly missed claiming the top spot as the UK city with the highest interest in relocating. On average, there are 36,083 monthly searches per 100,000 people in the city, trailing just behind Lisburn in the research. Similar to Lisburn, the local housing website 'PropertyPal' was the dominant player in Google searches in the region, representing over half of the total searches for terms related to moving house each month.
Colchester claimed third place on the study and ranked as the English city most interested in moving house. Colchester rated below the Northern Ireland cities with an average monthly search volume of 34,916 per 100,000 people. The UK property website 'Rightmove' was searched by residents more than any other term, averaging 22,783 searches a month, over 20,000 more than any other term linked to house moves.
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According to Google search data, Norwich ranks as the fourth city with the highest interest in relocating. On average, residents of the city conduct searches for house move-related terms approximately 34,173 times per month per 100,000 people. The most frequently searched terms in the area include 'Rightmove', 'Rightmove Norwich', and 'Zoopla'.
York completes the list of the top five UK cities where people show the most interest in relocating. The city in the Northeast has an average monthly search volume of 33,301 per 100,000 people for terms associated with house moves. Similar to every other English city examined in the study, 'Rightmove' emerged as the most popular search term in York, with locals searching for the property website an average of 20,081 times every month per 100,000 residents.
In the northwest of England Chester is the only place to be named among the UK cities most interested in moving house. The city ranked sixth on the study with an average monthly search volume of 32,794 per 100,000. Property portals Rightmove, Zoopla and SpareRoom were some of the most popular search terms for residents.
Chelmsford, Southend-on-Sea, Derby, and Cambridge are among the top 10 UK cities most interested in moving house, with each city having over 29,000 average monthly searches per 100,000 residents.
Aberdeen ranked bottom as the UK city where people are least interested in moving house. Just 10,485 searches per 100,000 people are completed for terms relating to house moves every month in the city. Aberdeen averaged 5,000 less monthly searches per 100,000 than Dunfermline, which placed second-last in the study.
David Burrows, Head of getamover.co.uk/, commented on the findings: "Despite house prices rising 1.4% year-on-year in Northern Ireland, residents in the region still remain some of the most interested in moving house.
"House prices in Scotland have risen the most over the last year, according to the UK’s House Price Index, with the average price soaring 3.3% to £190,341 as of December 2023. With no Scottish representation in the top ranking, and Aberdeen and Dunfermline placed at the bottom of the study, you may find that aspiring homeowners in Scotland are biding their time and waiting for the prices to dip again before making their move in the property market."
