New research shows house prices in UK cities are significantly outperforming both coastal and countryside locations, rising by an average of 3.4% over the past year.

This is well ahead of the wider UK market which has seen growth of 2.5%.

And while countryside homes have also seen a price increase, the nation’s massively popular seaside hotspots have been stunned by price drops of up to -6.9%.

The research by Property DriveBuy analysed the latest UK House Price Index data for November 2025.

This compared average annual house price growth across 20 major UK cities, 20 popular coastal towns, and 20 countryside locations to determine which delivered the best returns over the past year.

The research shows that the average UK house price has increased by 2.5% to reach £271,188, but the nation’s major cities have seen the strongest rate of growth of the three lifestyle offerings analysed by Yopa.

Strong city house price growth

The average rate of annual growth across the 20 major cities analysed stands at 3.4% to create an average house price of £225,377, demonstrating a clear demand for urban living.

This growth has been driven by particularly strong performance in Liverpool, where prices have grown by 8.5%, followed by Sunderland (7.4%) and Bradford (6.1%).

Strong growth has also been seen in Glasgow (5.8%), Edinburgh (5.7%), Newcastle (5.6%), and Manchester (5.3%), all of which saw price rises of more than 5% year on year.

Only two cities saw prices drop over the past year, with London’s average falling by -1.2%, and Birmingham’s falling by -0.6%

Steady performance from countryside markets

Across 20 countryside locations, average house prices are up 2.3% on the year, increasing from £266,726 to £272,879.

The strongest countryside performance was seen in Alnwick and Morpeth, both of which have seen prices rise by 8.3%, followed by Bangor (7.7%) and Nantwich (6.7%), Chagford (5%) and Dumfries (4.5%).

Five countryside locations recorded annual price drops, with Tetbury seeing the largest decline at -8.4%, followed by Lewes at -2.5%.

Coastal prices declining

Across 20 seaside locations, the average house price fell by 1.0%, declining from £276,615 to £273,921.

The biggest drops have been seen in Aberystwyth (-6.9%), Tenby (-5.2%), and Hastings (-4.5%), but not all seaside markets have seen prices fall.

Over the past year, prices in Porthmadog have grown by 3.4%, followed by Tynemouth (2.5%), Southend (1.9%), Whitby (1.4%), and Crosby (1.2%).