Manchester, the assumed capital of the “Northern Powerhouse” is one of the fastest and most exciting cities in the UK.
With thriving industries such as media drawing huge numbers of new workers to the city and its surrounding areas, the complexity of Great Manchester’s housing market is consistently developing.
If you are considering taking your first step onto the housing market in the Greater Manchester area, the task may appear daunting with so many areas to choose from in which the price range massively varies.
Here at Search Mortgage Solutions, one of the leading mortgage brokers in Manchester, we want to help everyone find the perfect mortgage for them, and therefore the perfect home. It’s because of this that we have put this list of hotspots for first-time buyers together.*Note, all of the average prices were independently compiled from house prices on 3rd April 2016.
Newton Heath
Average House Price: £108,556 (calculated from the current houses for sale on Zoopla).
The cheapest on average in this list lies North East of Manchester city centre. Newton Heath has previously not been one of the more desired areas to buy in, however in recent years they it has become a much more vibrant area.
The best thing is unlike other areas which have done a bit of a U-turn, the house prices in Newton Heath have remained relatively low.
Newton Heath has an average house price of £108,556 which is a great figure considering how close it is to the city.
If you work in the city, then you can get a short tram journey from Newton Heath & Motson tram stop to Manchester Piccadilly in just 20 minutes.
Droylsden
Another area in the East but a little more southerly is Droylsden. The sizeable town is just inside the M60 and is populated by both young professionals and families due to its proximity to the city centre.
Droylsden is also somewhat of a sporting hub. With its leafy suburb appearance, it has a number of surrounding golf clubs. It is also a mere stone thro away from both the National Cycling Centre and Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium.
The average house price here is a little more than Newton Heath, but is still very reasonable for its location, marking in at £136,793.
If you need to travel to the city, then it is just a swift 20 minutes or so by tram from Droylsden tram stop.
Cheetham Hill
If you take the A576 directly north out of the city centre heading towards the M60 you will head straight through lovely Cheetham Hill.
Another favourite of the young professional, this area of Manchester is very close to the city centre.
It is also the perfect place to live if you want to enjoy all that Manchester, with the likes of the Manchester Arena, the Print Works, the National Football Museum and upmarket Northern Quarter just a stones throw away.
The average cost of a house around here is £137,126 which considering its proximity to some of the most upmarket areas of the city centre, is very good.
Middleton
Just north of Cheetham Hill is the much larger area of Middleton. Because Middleton is the furthest distance away from the city centre in this list of hotspots, it has a remarkably large spectrum of housing prices.
While the average house price we compiled came to £143,720, (the highest in the list), this doesn’t completely do the area justice. Middleton had the highest individual house prices by a long what, buy there were very few of these, which obviously drags up the average.
There are plenty of cheap homes for first time buyers to check out here, and being both a comfortable distance from the city centre and also only 40 minutes by public transport (bus & tram), it’s a great place for both young professionals and young.
If you have been considering making those first steps onto the Manchester property ladder than hopefully these four hotspots may give you a number of viable options.
