More than one in ten properties listed as a fixer-upper last month
Investors looking for a renovation project will be illuminated to know that Blackpool tops the chart for such opportunities, with more than one in 10 properties (11.7%) listed as a fixer-upper in July 2026.
Out of 608 houses and flats for sale in Blackpool, 71 required modernisation, repairs or cosmetic work, of which 58 (81.7%) were houses and 13 were flats (18.3%), according to research by Property Buying Company.
Huddersfield came second, with 10.8% of properties considered to be a fixer upper, equating to 75 properties out of a total of 693 listed. Of these, 71 (94.7%) were houses and 4 were flats (5.3%).
Burnley was third, with 9.8% of fixer-upper properties for sale equating to 37 out of 378 properties, all of which were houses.
Flat fixer-uppers tower above houses in some areas
Filtered by flats that were fixer-uppers, Aberdeen had the highest proportion, with 26 out of 34 fixer-upper properties for sale being flats – over three-quarters of the available stock. That was followed by Dundee, with 64.3% of fixer-upper properties classified as flats (26 out of 34 properties) and Glasgow, with 60.7% of fixer-upper properties listed as flats (37 out of 61).
The research looked at the total number of properties for sale on Zoopla in July and compared the figures to those returned using the filter ‘Fixer-upper ’ in 50 of the most populous towns and cities across the UK, excluding London.
Karl McArdle, co-founder of The Property Buying Company, said: “Fixer-uppers can be an attractive option for buyers looking to customise a property to suit their style and needs, while purchasing at a more affordable price.
“They also present a rewarding investment opportunity for those looking to take on a renovation project and achieve a strong return through resale or buy-to-let.”
| Best opportunities in the UK to invest in a fixer-upper | ||||
| Rank | City/Town | Total number of properties for sale | Number of fixer-upper properties for sale | % of fixer-upper properties for sale |
| 1 | Blackpool | 608 | 71 | 11.7% |
| 2 | Huddersfield | 693 | 75 | 10.8% |
| 3 | Burnley | 378 | 37 | 9.8% |
| =4 | Swansea | 1,659 | 160 | 9.6% |
| =4 | Stoke-on-Trent | 1,114 | 107 | 9.6% |
| 6 | Hull | 1,194 | 109 | 9.1% |
| 7 | Leicester | 1,960 | 158 | 8.1% |
| 8 | Middlesbrough | 417 | 33 | 7.9% |
| 9 | Oxford | 855 | 65 | 7.6% |
| 10 | York | 1,272 | 96 | 7.5% |
Source: Figures sourced by The Property Buying Company from Zoopla
