A SCOTTISH town has been identified as the top property hotspot in Britain, with asking prices there surging by 15% over the past year.

Paisley is joined in the top three by Lancaster and Wigan in northern England in the list, compiled by Rightmove. London was excluded from the main research. The strongest asking price growth in London was in West Norwood, where they increased by 12% annually – a slower rate than in Paisley but matching the growth also recorded in Lancaster and Wigan.

Rightmove said local estate agents in Paisley report that access to nature and green spaces may have contributed to the rising prices. Both of these attributes are said to have become more important to some home movers during coronavirus lockdowns.

Curtis Chisholm, director at Cochran Dickie estate agency, said: “The demand for Paisley can be attributed to the fact you can get more for your money here than in Glasgow’s west end or south side, especially with the ease of commuting coupled with quality homes in very desirable addresses. Paisley is a very historical town with fabulous culture.”

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The average asking price of a home in Paisley is currently £126,903, which is £16,183 more than a year ago. However, average asking prices in the town are £191,677 cheaper than the British average, at £318,580 and £34,619 cheaper than the Scottish average of £161,522.

All of the top-10 hotspots outside London have average asking prices that are cheaper than the average across Britain. Rightmove’s director of property data Tim Bannister said: “Demand for property in Paisley is very high at the moment, with searches for homes to buy in the town having risen by 44% on this time last year. Naturally, demand leads to rising prices and with swathes of rolling countryside on the doorstep, it makes sense that Paisley is such a popular destination for home movers looking for more space.

“With regards to the other price hotspots in our table, places in the north-west of England are continuing to perform really strongly. A recent study of ours also found that the biggest ‘winners’ for property prices for all of 2020 were suburban areas in the north-west and this shows the trend is continuing.”

1. Paisley, Renfrewshire, £126,903, 15%. =2. Lancaster, Lancashire, £197,790, 12%; Wigan, Greater Manchester, £175,202, 12%. =4. Bishop Auckland, County Durham, £135,736, 11%; Keighley, West Yorkshire, £195,175, 11%; Pudsey, West Yorkshire, £225,530, 11%; Newquay, Cornwall, £294,381, 11%; Neath, South Glamorgan, £160,541, 11%. =9. Wallasey, Merseyside, £174,003, 10%; Liverpool, Merseyside, £175,300, 10%.