Inner city Bristol neighbourhood is Britain's property hotspot, says Rightmove

An inner-city neighbourhood in Bristol has been named the strongest sellers' market of 2021 by Rightmove.

Analysis by the UK's largest online retail property portal revealed that more than eight out of every 10 properties for sale in Easton (83 per cent) have already been marked 'sold subject to contract'.

The research also revealed that the average asking price for the popular Bristol area has increased by seven per cent compared to the previous year.

Another Bristol neighbourhood, Brislington, just missed out on the top five, while a South Gloucestershire village near Bristol, Mangotsfield, came in third.

A strong sellers’ market refers to an area where a high proportion of the homes that have come to market have found a buyer, and have therefore been marked sold subject to contract (SSTC).

The top 10 sellers' markets have been named by Rightmove today (Thursday, December 16) as well as the top 10 buyers' markets, of which none are in the Bristol area.

This year, the property market is said to have faced exceptional buyer demand, leading to seven out of every 10 homes on Rightmove finding a buyer and being marked SSTC - compared to just two out of every 10 in 2012.

Rightmove’s director of property data Tim Bannister declared this a "staggering statistic" that highlights the "speed and efficiency of the housing market".

It was followed by Eastleigh in Hampshire and Middlewood to make up the top five sellers' hotspots.

Brislington in Bristol came in sixth, with Rightmove reporting that 81 per cent of properties are SSTC, with a five per cent average rise in prices.

According to the data, average asking prices were £299,072 in Easton, £321,438 in Mangotsfield and £314,605 in Brislington.

Across the country, homes in the £250,000 or below bracket were the best performing for sellers this year, with more than three quarters (76 per cent) finding a buyer and being marked SSTC.

The average asking price for homes in Easton was only slightly over the threshold for the best-performing sellers.

Estate agents have reported that available stock per estate agency branch is at a new record low, with Easton only hosting 17 per cent of available homes.

However, Rightmove says there are signs that there will be more buyer choice heading into 2022, as the number of people requesting a valuation of their home by an estate agent is up by 19 per cent compared to this time last year.

Mr Bannister added: “This year, sellers in Great Britain have had a better chance of finding a buyer for their home than at any time over the past decade.

"Managing short supply with high buyer demand has been a challenge for agents across Great Britain this year, and while the level of stock per agent is at record lows, the jump in number of people getting in touch with an agent to have their home valued suggests some fresh choice for buyers next year.”

All but one of the top five buyers' market locations were in London, with Aberdeen the only exception.