Commuter Asking Price Growth Splits UK Property Market as Glasgow Leads and London Lags

Commuter asking price growth in the UK is pulling sharply in opposite directions: Falkirk and Rochdale are leading a northern surge, while eleven of the fifteen steepest-falling commuter markets serve London. Rightmove, the UK’s largest property platform, analysed asking price changes across commuter towns linked to six major cities: London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow and Cardiff.

The results are blunt. Ten of the fifteen fastest-growing commuter locations sit near Glasgow or Manchester. At the other end, London’s commuter belt accounts for the bulk of the declines.

What Is Driving Commuter Asking Price Growth in the North

Falkirk posted the highest annual change of any location in the analysis, with asking prices up 13.5% over the past year. The average asking price for a home there now stands at £183,596, still below the Scottish average of £199,888 as of August, according to Rightmove’s data.

Clark Gillespie, director at Forth and Clyde Property in Falkirk, said the town is ‘an attractive choice for buyers because it offers a combination of affordability, strong transport links and excellent family amenities.’ Its connections to Edinburgh and Stirling extend its commuter appeal beyond Glasgow alone, making it ‘a practical option for commuters who want to stay connected to major cities while getting more for their money.’

Rochdale ranks second at 8.7% growth, taking its average asking price to £238,115, which remains below the North West regional average of £273,421. St Helens (7.8%), Wigan (6.2%) and Stalybridge (5.6%) round out Manchester’s contribution to the top fifteen.

Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, framed the dynamic clearly: ‘In the more affordable locations around Glasgow and Manchester, asking prices are rising strongly as buyers look for value within reach of major cities.’

Source: Rightmove, 24 August

London’s Commuter Belt Sees Asking Prices Ease

The capital’s commuter towns present a different picture. Haywards Heath in West Sussex recorded the largest fall among all locations studied, with asking prices down 4.8% year-on-year to £461,066. Maidenhead dropped 3.9% to £571,686. Bath, serving Bristol rather than London, fell 3.8%.

Eleven of the fifteen locations with the steepest asking price declines orbit London. Babcock acknowledged the flip side: ‘Some of the more expensive commuter hotspots are seeing prices ease, which could create opportunities for buyers who may previously have been priced out.’

The pattern is consistent with broader Rightmove data. In August, London saw asking prices fall 3.1% year-on-year, and the capital now has the largest choice of homes available to buy since 2010, according to Rightmove’s House Price Index. Prices across the south of England are down 1.8% over the same period.

Broxbourne in Hertfordshire is a London-belt outlier. At 8.1% growth and an average asking price of £654,263, it is the only capital commuter town in the top fifteen risers, suggesting buyers are still reaching for relative value even within the higher-priced London orbit.

The Broader Trend Points North

The commuter data aligns with Rightmove’s forward outlook. The platform forecasts that Wales, Scotland and northern England will outperform London and the south in 2026, driven by affordability and a more balanced supply-and-demand dynamic. It is projecting overall UK asking price growth of just 2% for the year, keeping the aggregate headline modest even as pockets of the north run considerably faster.

Since 20 July, Rightmove has recorded a 5% increase in buyer demand nationally, according to its 2026 market trends analysis. Whether that demand translates into price support in London’s commuter belt, or continues to concentrate in the more affordable north, is the question that will define the commuter market over the next two quarters.

For buyers, the arithmetic is straightforward: towns such as Wishaw at £140,127 and Greenock at £135,151 still sit well below any London equivalent, while rail links keep city centres reachable. The next test is whether sustained buyer interest in those markets begins to close the affordability gap that is currently driving them.