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Manchester named one of the most in-demand places to buy your first home

Who wouldn't want to live here?

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 14th May 2025

Manchester has been named among the best places in the UK to buy your first home in 2025.

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 viewed as the places to live.

You may remember that one Greater Manchester area was recently named a ‘property hotspot’ for 2025 by Rightmove based on last year’s data, while not too long ago, neighbourhoods such as Bramhall, Broadheath, and Bowdon were identified as being the places where houses prices were shooting up the most.

Another recent national ranking by Savills singled-out two of our region’s neighbourhoods as being some of the ‘most desirable’ Britain has to offer.

But this time round, it’s the city itself getting its chance to shine.

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Manchester has been named one of the most in-demand places to buy your first home / Credit: Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)

Rightmove has compiled a list of what it believes are the top 10 best areas in the UK for first time buyers looking to get their foot on the property ladder in 2025 – and Manchester has made the cut right near the top.

Rightmove analysed the 50 highest-populated cities in Great Britain to see where first time buyers are looking to settle down in the most this year.

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Manchester takes second place on Rightmove’s list though, with average asking prices just below £211,000, with Edinburgh following closely behind in third at £251,000.

Top 10 most in-demand UK areas for first time buyers 2025

  1. Glasgow
  2. Manchester
  3. Edinburgh
  4. Leeds
  5. Sheffield
  6. Liverpool
  7. Birmingham
  8. Bristol
  9. Nottingham
  10. Southampton

But it’s Glasgow that has been named Britain’s most in-demand city for first time buyers.

Here the average asking price for a typical first time buyer property in the city is £148,979, which is significantly below the national average first time buyer asking price of £228,551.

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Overall, Rightmove says the data from this year’s analysis shows a trend of first time buyers looking towards northern cities, with five of the top 10 locations situated in the north of England, considering Leeds takes fourth place with an average asking price of £182,420, while both Sheffiled and Liverpool round out the top six.

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Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham, and Southampton complete the list, with Bristol having the highest average asking price among the top 10 at just above £283,000.

Featured Image – Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)

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Police still searching for answers six months after remains of baby girl found in Little Hulton park

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Floral tributes laid for Baby A after remains found in Salford

Six months on after the remains of a baby girl were found in a park in Little Hulton, police are still searching for answers.

It was on 20 November 2024 that Greater Manchester Police (GMP) received a call from a member of the public reporting the discovery of what appeared to be human remains in a park in the Little Hulton area of Salford – but it was only when officers and detectives attended the scene that they determinted the remains to be that of a baby girl.

At the time, police referred to the baby simply as ‘Baby A’, but it’s now be confirmed that they chose to name her Ava.

Since that day, a dedicated team from GMP’s Major Incident Team has worked ‘tirelessly’ to uncover the truth about who Baby Ava was and what led to her being left alone.

Detectives have followed up on hundreds of public tips, conducted thousands of hours of house-to-house enquiries, reviewed extensive CCTV footage, and collaborated with police forces and agencies across the country in pursuit of identifying who baby Ava was and securing justice for her… but as of yet, there are no answers.

Police issue statement after remains of young baby found in Salford field
Police are still searching for answers six months after the remains of a baby girl found in a Little Hulton park / Credit: Google Maps

Information from the public also led police to speak with potential witnesses nationwide, and time was also spent trawling the national missing person database, focusing on cases involving females who were potentially pregnant and reported missing, yet these were unsuccessful.

To this day, police continue to work closely with a range of experts.

Currently, a botanist is helping detectives determine how long Ava may have been at the discovery site, and work is continuing with an anthropologist, archaeologist, and specialists in dental and bone analysis to establish Ava’s age and ethnicity.

As investigations continue at a rapid pace, police have reissued their appeal to the public for information.

Floral tributes laid for Baby A after remains found in Salford
Floral tributes laid for Baby A after remains found in Salford
Police have since named the baby Ava as their search for answers continues / Credit: GMP

“We will never forget Baby Ava, and despite the challenges in the investigation, we’re committed to uncovering the truth,” commented Detective Chief Inspector Charlotte Whalley, from GMP’s Major Incident Team. “We are more determined than ever to find who Ava is, who her parents are, and all of the possible scenarios and circumstances which have led Ava to being separated from them. 

“I know how heartbreaking this case has been for the communities of Greater Manchester and beyond. The support and compassion we’ve received has been unwavering, and we share the sadness felt for Ava as we continue our search for answers so that we can lay her to rest.

“If you are baby Ava’s mum, please know that you are not alone. You can contact us directly or ask someone you trust to reach out on your behalf. We want to help you.”

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Anyone with any information that may be of assistance is asked to contact police on 101, quoting log 1319 of 20/11/24, or by heading to the Major Incident Public Portal here.

Featured Image – GMP

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Heartbreaking new figures show 35% of all children in the North West are living in poverty

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Schoolchildren in an assembly

35% of all children in the North West are currently living in poverty, some heartbreaking new figures have revealed.

Some new research carried out to understand regional levels of child poverty, conducted by Loughborough University for the End Child Poverty Coalition, has sadly revealed over a third (35%) of all children in the North West are living in what is called ‘relative poverty’, after the cost of housing is considered – which is higher than the national average standing at 31%. 

Over in the Lancashire authority of Pendle, this figure reaches 45%, making it the second highest rate of all local authorities in the country.

In Greater Manchester, both Oldham and Manchester join Pendle in the list of the 10 council areas with the highest child poverty rates in the UK, as well as Blackburn with Darwen, and Hyndburn, and to make matters worse, the North West features on the list more times than any other region nationwide.

Rusholme was identified as the Manchester area with the highest percentage rating – with more than half (51.3%) of all children there living in poverty. 

88% of constituencies across the North West have a quarter of children in poverty.

This could lead to things like families being forced to use food banks, children going without warm clothes in winter, or living in cold or unsafe housing.

As a result of these shocking statistics being revealed, the End Child Poverty Coalition – which represents more than 135 organisations across the UK – is calling on the Government to meet its manifesto commitment to address these high levels of child poverty, not just in the North West but also across the rest of country. 

“These figures should demonstrate to Government just how important it is to quickly address this so       to prevent another generation of children from growing up in low-income families,” commented Rachel Walters, who is the End Child Poverty Coalition Manager.

“The Government’s strategy to tackle child poverty must invest in children in areas with higher levels of poverty, like the North West.”

Graham Whitham, who is a End Child Poverty Coalition spokesperson and the Chief Executive of Resolve Poverty, added: “No child should go without the things they need to be healthy and happy.

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“The Government’s forthcoming national Child Poverty Strategy must demonstrate a clear ambition to ending child poverty in this country, backed by specific targets and immediate investment in social security.”

Featured Image – RawPixel

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