Zoopla reveals Britain’s best places for job hunting first-time buyers
Property expert Zoopla launches new tool that reveals best places for first-time buyers to live in proximity to specific industries
Those looking to work in agriculture, forestry or fishing should consider moving to Powys, Wales
Elsewhere, South Cambridgeshire is best option for manufacturing; Epping Forest is the top location for construction, and Westminster is the most attractive option for financial services
January is renowned for being a popular time of the year to search for a new job, and Zoopla - the UK’s most comprehensive property destination - can reveal the best areas for first-time buyers looking to relocate for one of 18 different industries.
Zoopla has analysed data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) (November 2019) to find the number of business units in 18 key industries across Great Britain and divided them by the working-age population (by local authority) to ascertain the number of employment opportunities for each industry. Based on search data, Zoopla has then provided the average value first-time buyers look for in each location and used both pieces of data to launch a new online tool that helps those looking to buy their first home in an area where they have the best chance of working in their chosen industry.
For example, those first-time buyers looking to move somewhere with lots of opportunity in agriculture, forestry or fishing, Powys in Wales is their best option, with 44.4 businesses per 1,000 people, where the average price paid by a first-time buyer is £120,000. Following in second place is Eden District in Cumbria, where the average price of a home is £128,000, and where there are 44.2 businesses per 1,000 people in the industry. Meanwhile, Ryedale in North Yorkshire is third (£160,000 average value and 36.4 businesses per 1,000 people).
Elsewhere those looking to work in manufacturing should consider moving to South Cambridgeshire, where there are 7.8 businesses per 1,000 people and the average price for a first-time buyer home is £270,000. Meanwhile those looking to work in construction should look for property in Epping Forest, where the average price of a first-time buyer home is £325,000 and there are 20.6 businesses per 1,000 people. For those looking to work in financial services outside of London and the South East, Salford has the third most businesses in the field where the average first-time buyer home is worth £148,000.
Harry Foges, consumer spokesperson at Zoopla comments: “We understand what being close to work is worth for first-time buyers looking for their first home.
“It could be assumed that first-time buyers who are looking for a home based on employment opportunities should automatically head to one of the major cities. However, our research finds that this might not necessarily be the best approach.
“While the biggest cities will be home to the most businesses for some industries, first-timers will also face stiffer competition for jobs due to the bigger population. When you add into the mix increasingly-stretched affordability, especially in London, our research shows how it could pay to look further afield to areas with more affordable homes but that are still rich in opportunity within a given industry.”
Britain’s best places to buy for a job (ranked by businesses per 1,000 people)
Industry and ranking | Local/unitary authority | First-time buyer average value property | Business per 1,000 people |
---|---|---|---|
Agriculture, forestry and fishing | |||
1 | Powys | £120,000 | 44.4 |
2 | Eden | £128,000 | 44.2 |
3 | Ryedale | £160,000 | 36.4 |
4 | Torridge | £150,000 | 35.2 |
5 | West Devon | £195,000 | 35.2 |
Mining and quarrying | |||
1 | Westminster | £675,000 | 3.2 |
2 | Argyll and Bute | £60,000 | 1.9 |
3 | Mendip | £180,000 | 1.6 |
4 | Aberdeenshire | £150,000 | 1.5 |
5 | Eden | £128,000 | 1.3 |
Manufacturing | |||
1 | South Cambridgeshire | £270,000 | 7.8 |
2 | East Dorset | £285,000 | 7.8 |
3 | Ryedale | £160,000 | 7.4 |
4 | Derbyshire Dales | £130,000 | 7.1 |
5 | South Hams | £175,000 | 6.8 |
Construction | |||
1 | Epping Forest | £325,000 | 20.6 |
2 | East Hertfordshire | £290,000 | 18.6 |
3 | Maldon | £240,000 | 18.3 |
4 | Westminster | £675,000 | 18.2 |
5 | East Dorset | £285,000 | 17.4 |
Motor trades | |||
1 | Corby | £150,000 | 5.9 |
2 | East Dorset | £285,000 | 4 |
3 | Ryedale | £160,000 | 3.9 |
4 | Daventry | £198,000 | 3.8 |
5 | Stratford-on-Avon | £250,000 | 3.7 |
Wholesale goods | |||
1 | Westminster | £675,000 | 10.1 |
2 | Camden | £600,000 | 6.9 |
3 | Ashford | £220,000 | 6.8 |
4 | Hertsmere | £375,000 | 6.6 |
5 | Kensington and Chelsea | £800,000 | 5.4 |
Retail | |||
1 | Eastleigh | £190,000 | 30.3 |
2 | Westminster | £675,000 | 27.5 |
3 | Kensington and Chelsea | £800,000 | 17.8 |
4 | Brighton and Hove | £270,000 | 15.9 |
5 | Camden | £600,000 | 15.6 |
Transport, storage and postal | |||
1 | East Hertfordshire | £290,000 | 21.2 |
2 | Corby | £150,000 | 18.2 |
3 | Rugby | £160,000 | 14.4 |
4 | South Holland | £153,000 | 13.6 |
5 | Wellingborough | £173,000 | 11.7 |
Accomodation and Food | |||
1 | Westminster | £675,000 | 21.8 |
2 | South Lakeland | £203,000 | 14.1 |
3 | Scarborough | £130,000 | 12 |
4 | Camden | £600,000 | 11.7 |
5 | West Somerset | £160,000 | 11 |
Information, communication and IT | |||
1 | Westminster | £675,000 | 30.9 |
2 | Camden | £600,000 | 26.9 |
3 | Islington | £500,000 | 21.6 |
4 | Hackney | £475,000 | 20.8 |
5 | Wokingham | £270,000 | 20 |
Financial Services | |||
1 | Westminster | £675,000 | 25.1 |
2 | Waverley | £300,000 | 9.5 |
3 | Salford | £148,000 | 8.4 |
4 | Carlisle | £117,000 | 7.9 |
5 | Blaby | £185,000 | 6.5 |
Property | |||
1 | Westminster | £675,000 | 30.7 |
2 | Kensington and Chelsea | £800,000 | 10.9 |
3 | South Bucks | £325,000 | 10.6 |
4 | Camden | £600,000 | 8.6 |
5 | Barnet | £425,000 | 8.5 |
Science and tech | |||
1 | Westminster | £675,000 | 71.8 |
2 | Camden | £600,000 | 55.6 |
3 | Kensington and Chelsea | £800,000 | 34.8 |
4 | Elmbridge | £360,000 | 33.6 |
5 | Richmond upon Thames | £450,000 | 33 |
Business administration, support and travel | |||
1 | Westminster | £675,000 | 34.6 |
2 | Camden | £600,000 | 19 |
3 | Kensington and Chelsea | £800,000 | 16.4 |
4 | Milton Keynes | £208,000 | 16.4 |
5 | East Hertfordshire | £290,000 | 15 |
Public administration and defence | |||
1 | Argyll and Bute | £60,000 | 2.9 |
2 | Derbyshire Dales | £130,000 | 2.9 |
3 | Hambleton | £155,000 | 2.5 |
4 | North Lanarkshire | £95,000 | 2.4 |
5 | Renfrewshire | £85,000 | 2.1 |
Teaching and education | |||
1 | Camden | £600,000 | 3.9 |
2 | Cambridge | £300,000 | 3.9 |
3 | Westminster | £675,000 | 3.8 |
4 | Derbyshire Dales | £130,000 | 3.6 |
5 | South Lakeland | £203,000 | 3.3 |
Health & social work | |||
1 | Westminster | £675,000 | 9.8 |
2 | Kensington and Chelsea | £800,000 | 6.4 |
3 | Camden | £600,000 | 6.4 |
4 | West Dorset | £190,000 | 6 |
5 | Conwy | £125,000 | 5.9 |
Entertainment, arts and recreation | |||
1 | Wellingborough | £173,000 | 43.1 |
2 | Westminster | £675,000 | 25.8 |
3 | Camden | £600,000 | 15.8 |
4 | Kensington and Chelsea | £800,000 | 12.9 |
5 | Forest Heath | £170,000 | 10.8 |
- Ends -
For further information, please contact PR Team on [email protected] or +44 (0)20 3873 8770.
To ascertain the average value of property that first time buyers are interested in Zoopla analysed a three month period of leads from those identified in that group until November 2019.
Zoopla analysed data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) (November 2019) to find the number of business units in 18 key industries across Great Britain. You can see a summary of business definitions under this ONS Summary of Structure document (PDF).
Note that a business unit refers to a single building such as an office, shop or warehouse. Each Tesco store, for example, is counted as a separate entity within a local authority. Only businesses that are registered for VAT and/or for PAYE are counted in the ONS figures.
To ensure results are proportionate, we've divided the number of places to work (business units) by the working age population (16 to 64) within each local authority (2018 ONS data) and multiplied it by 1,000.
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