The property market may be slowing down across the UK, but it’s a different story here in Greater Manchester as house prices continue to soar in 2023.
There’s no doubt the property market in our region has been booming over the last decade or so, with average house prices seeming to rise year-on-year, and more and more areas becoming sought-after as the places to live.
But when we look at the wider UK housing market, house prices are currently on the decline.
After what had been continuous price hikes as a result of a high demand for properties following the pandemic, recent figures from Nationwide and Halifax have shown a consistent fall in the average house prices over the last five months – which is of course great news for buyers, but not so good for those looking to sell.
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House prices are rising the most in these Greater Manchester areas / Credit: Geograph
Here in Greater Manchester though, a handful of residential areas have seen house prices continue or start to soar in 2023, and the Manchester Evening News has decided to shine a light on 10 of them in a recent round-up.
The paper used data from HM Land Registry and looked at what the average price of a house was back in October 2022 compared to February 2023 to find out where prices are rising the most.
10 Greater Manchester areas where house prices are rising the most
(Average price as of February 2023 listed)
Bramhall, Stockport – £494,819
Broadheath, Trafford – £349,190
Bowdon, Trafford – £897,758
Heaton Chapel, Stockport – £358,329
Cheadle Hulme, Stockport – £365,327
Heaton Norris, Stockport – £300,921
Whitefield, Bury – £274,705
Radcliffe, Bury – £231,989
Audenshaw, Tameside – £221,088
Ardwick, Manchester – £204,743
The affluent leafy suburb of Bramhall in Stockport took the top spot on the list, with data showing that the average cost of a home in the area is now £494,819 – which has gone up by £48,558 from £446,261 in October 2022.
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The average cost of a home in Broadheath in Trafford was £303,094 back in October, but this has now jumped up to £349,190 in February, where as in Bowdon – which has always been one of the most expensive places to live in the region – the average price was £855,886 in October, but this has now risen by £41,872 to reach £897,758.
Bramhall, Broadheath, and Bowdon are the places where prices are rising the most / Credit: Alan Cleaver (via Flickr)
Heaton Chapel and Cheadle Hulme in Stockport are both seeing fast price hikes, with the average cost of a home now being £358,329 and £365,327.
Two of the most popular areas in the borough of Bury, Whitefield and Radcliffe, have also seen house prices rise on average, with the Tameside town of Audenshaw also seeing homes get more expensive, and while the Manchester suburb of Ardwick may be sitting in tenth place, prices are still on the rise.
We may only be two months into 2023, but it’s predicted that in these 10 areas of the region, house prices will only continue to rise.
Featured Image – Roger Kidd (via Geograph)
Boroughs
Two Greater Manchester towns have been named in The Sunday Times’ best places to live
Thomas Melia
Esteemed UK newspaper The Sunday Times’ has published its list of the ‘Best places to live in the UK 2025’, and it features two Greater Manchester boroughs.
Us Mancs didn’t need anymore clarification to know that where we live is incredible but we’ll always take it, especially when the compliment is coming from none other than The Sunday Times.
The publication revealed its annual guide of ‘Best places to live 2025’ which featured more than 70 different locations throughout the nation.
Although we may have been pipped to the top spot, Greater Manchester is featured not once, but twice, which is pretty impressive.
Claiming the victory this year is the market town with a name as pretty as its surroundings, Saffron Walden, which is only 15 miles from Cambridge.
The locations were ranked through a number of key categories including transport, house prices, broadband, schools and a new addition, mobile signal.
All the contributors to the full list acknowledge the obvious missing puzzle piece,food, and we know if this was factored in a few more Greater Manchester locations may have nabbed the ‘Best places to live’ honour.
The first Greater Manchester based entry is The Heatons, a hotspot nestled between the city centreand the city of Stockport, which is actually four neighbourhoods – Heaton Chapel, Mersey, Moor and Norris.
These areas are home to living history in the form of the iconic century old Savoy Cinema and lots of open green spaces.
Food may have been missed off The Sunday Times’ list but it certainly didn’t go a miss on ours.
Mossley has been named on The Sunday Times Best Places to Live list. Credit: Instagram, @ariadneexploresThe Heatons also made the list. Credit: Instagram, @fourtheheatons
The second spot which managed to grab the title of ‘Best places to live 2025’ is Mossley, a town packed to the brim with cosy cottages, blissful walks and a close-knit friendly community.
It’s not too far from Dovestone Reservoir and the Peak District National Park – when you’ve got all this greenery on your doorstep you’re bound to be in a good mood.
Our friends over in Leeds at The Hoothave lots to cheer about as Ilkley, Hebden Bridge, Easingwold and Ripon all got a mention.
You can find out the full rundown on all the spots up and down the country that have been selected as part of ‘The Sunday Times’ Best places to live for 2025′ HERE.
Greater Manchester unveils latest vision to bring local rail under the Bee Network
Danny Jones
Mayor Andy Burnham and fellow local leaders have unveiled the latest plans behind the vision to bring the Greater Manchester and nearby train links under the Bee Network.
For starters, the plan is to add a total of eight rail lines to the ever-growing public transport system.
Posting the latest schematic on social media this Friday, the Greater Manchester Mayor celebrated the unified tap-and-go service for buses and trams at the start of the week and has now ended it by sharing the next steps with the 10 boroughs.
We started the week by integrating buses and trams into a single tap-and-go system.
The update is in response to the UK government’s ‘A Railway Fit for Britain’s Future‘ reform bill, the national consultation of which is well underway and closes to local authorities and the public at large on Tuesday, 15 April.
The overall aim is for Greater Manchester to reach an agreement with the government in devolving power to Mayoral Combined Authorities when it comes to the planning and developing of local infrastructure and train services.
Put simply, the goal is to achieve local responsibility and accountability for rail travel as the city-region looks to continue establishing its own ‘London-style’ public transport framework (i.e. the Oyster card which is valid for buses tubes, local railway and so on).
In addition to this, they are hoping to make new arrangements for funding, fares and services through the Railway Bill, which would hopefully see rail fares in and around Greater Manchester, as well as neighbouring areas like parts of Cheshire and Derbyshire, fall under the Bee Network cap.
Once again, this regional push is a reaction to the country’s various rail companies’ continuing struggle to provide both affordable and reliable train travel.
Sub-quality rail services in the North, especially, are a big driving force behind the plans to loop train travel into the Bee Network.
Detailing a three-phase plan to carry out these city-region specific changes as the Labour Party looks to establish Great British Railways – a new body bringing track and train together – local authorities are already working closely with the Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT).
Speaking on the masterplan, which culminates in a full ‘Bee Network Rail by 2030, Burnham has dubbed it “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rewire how the railways are run”, and one that can set a standard for other areas up and down the country.
The Mayor went on to add: “We’re already delivering change in Greater Manchester and have seen the positive benefit that greater local control and accountability for our tram, bus and active travel has had, with increasing numbers of people getting on board – but rail is the missing piece of the jigsaw…
“A Bee Network fare cap – including rail – would mean that people commuting into the city at peak times from Glossop could pay a cap of around £14 including return train travel as well as trips on buses and trams.
“Devolution is working for people in Greater Manchester, but we know that many other areas are at different stages of their journey […] We know the government share our ambition to restore confidence and get more people choosing the train, and we’ve been really encouraged by our conversations so far on how things can be done differently.”
Emily Sergeant -
9th February 2023 
