Revealed: the 20 easiest locations to buy a home outside of London

In the market for a new home but unsure where to look? A new tool from online comparison site Compare the Market might just give househunters a nod in the right direction.

Using house sale and price data along with information about each region, town or city, the site has come up with the 20 easiest locations in the UK to buy outside of London.

Compare the Market looked at the average number of days each property for sale spent on the market, the average years each had been in the hands of the current owner, the number of properties per 100,000 people locally and the number of estate agents serving the community.

In London, a property will spend an average 89 days on the market and sell for an average £639,629).

Canterbury takes the No.1 spot

When the results were mashed up, Canterbury in Kent emerged at No.1 on the list of the 20 easiest places to buy outside of London.

The cathedral city topped the poll, thanks to its average 28 days for a property to be on the market and its average house price of £311,154 – less than half of the average price of a home in London (£639,629 according to Compare the Market). And with Canterbury less than an hour from the capital, its spot at No.1 looks well justified.

Bristol came in at No.2. Properties there take an average 51 days to sell and the average house price is £311,003.

Next up at No.3 is Southampton where homeowners will sell a property in an average 40 days and pocket an average £280,128.

Manchester is in at No.4 (77 days, £185,583), followed by Nottingham at No.5 (74 days, £194,099).

The top 20 in full

The top 20 easiest places to buy outside of London are:

1. Canterbury (28 days, £311.154)
2. Bristol (51 days, £311,003)
3. Southampton (40 days, £280,128)
4. Manchester (77 days, £185,583)
5. Nottingham (74 days), £194,099)
6. York (63 days, £274,153)
7. Glasgow (56 days, £170,811)
8. Newcastle (96 days, £200,907)
9. Bradford (63 days, £131,036)
10. Portsmouth (67 days, £223,910)
11. Sheffield (71 days, £187,362)
12. Liverpool (108 days, £165,592)
13. Peterborough (35 days, £215,690)
14. Derby (69 days, £196,350)
15. Sunderland (70 days, £140,550)
16. Coventry (35 days, £203,911)
17. Leicester (79 days, £215,530)
18. Edinburgh (53 days, £262,922)
19. Birmingham (80 days, £191,095)
20. Leeds (80 days, £198,622).

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