An original-data study by honestly

The UK City-Centre Property Index

94 districts · 8 cities · Updated 2026-08-07

As of 7 August 2026, across 94 city-centre postcode districts in 8 UK cities, the typical city-centre flat takes about None days to sell and is listed level with the local sold median of £229,930. The slowest centre, N/A , averages N/A days - about None times the fastest, N/A at N/A days. Sold prices are HM Land Registry records; asking prices are live listings, reported side by side.

None

Median days on market

across 94 centres

Median asking vs sold

context, not a discount

None%

Median stuck 90+ days

of available stock

Median price per m²

recorded sales

Key findings

In 0 of 94 districts the median asking price sits below the median sold price. This is a composition signal, not a discount: the flats on sale today skew smaller and cheaper than the trailing two years of completed sales, so the two medians describe different stock.
The typical city centre shows a median sold price of £229,930 and a median -/m², across 0 live listings and 29,450 sales in the last twelve months.

Method

This index lays daily city-centre district reports side by side. Every figure is that district's own data: sold prices and price per square metre are HM Land Registry data; asking prices, days on market and stuck-stock counts are live listings on the day the district was last refreshed. Nothing is blended into a valuation: the official transaction record and the live market sit next to each other.

This snapshot covers 94 city-centre districts across 8 cities (Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield), as of 2026-08-07. It is a sample of the most active city centres, not the whole of any city or the whole UK, and it grows as the daily rotation adds districts. You can download every number below.

Download the raw data (CSV)

1. How long a city-centre flat takes to sell

As of 7 August 2026, the spread is stark. N/A averages N/A days on the market; N/A turns over in N/A. Time on market is the cleanest read on liquidity - how quickly a realistic asking price finds a buyer.

Days on the market, slowest to fastest
#	City centre	Avg days on market	Sold median	Stuck 90+ days

2. Why asking prices sit below sold prices

This is the finding most likely to be misread. In 0 of 94 districts the median asking price is below the median sold price. That is not sellers discounting - it is a composition effect. The flats listed today are smaller and cheaper stock than the trailing two years of completed sales the sold median is built from, so the two medians are measuring different homes. Asking prices are vendor expectation; they are context beside the sold record, never evidence of value.

Asking median against sold median (context, not a discount)
#	City centre	Asking median	Sold median	Asking vs sold

3. Where stock gets stuck

A listing past 90 days is usually a pricing problem, not a market problem. The fastest centres barely register it. The same homes sell quickly when priced to the sold evidence and sit when priced to hope.

Share of available stock listed 90+ days
#	City centre	Stuck 90+ days	Stuck / available	Avg days on market

4. Price per square metre, city by city

Headline prices mislead because they mix flat sizes. Price per square metre is the honest cross-city comparison. It runs from £0/m² in N/A to £0/m² in N/A - roughly None times.

Median sold price per square metre, highest first
#	City centre	Price per m²	Sold median	Sales last 12m

What it means

If you are buying

The slow, high-stuck centres are where offers below asking are most likely to land - a 90+ day listing has a motivated seller behind it.
Compare on price per square metre, not headline price, to see which city centre actually gives you more home for the money.

If you are selling

Price to the sold record, not the asking median - in 0 of 94 centres the asking median is already below what is completing, and the stuck pile is full of homes priced above the evidence.
Expect roughly the days-on-market figure for your centre at a realistic price; well beyond it means the price, not the market, is the problem.

If you are an agent

The stuck-stock share is your instruction-health gauge - the higher it is, the more of your board is a pricing conversation waiting to happen.
The sold-evidence number is the lever to get a stalled listing moving without a guessing game.

Limitations

This is a sample of 94 active city-centre districts, not a census. Medians are robust but hide the spread within each district. The asking-vs-sold gap reflects the current listing mix and should never be read as a discount on value. Sold data lags completion and registration by weeks. Days on market and stuck counts are a snapshot on each district's refresh date, not a continuous series. The figures describe city-centre flats and do not generalise to a whole city or to houses.

Cite this / use the data

This is original analysis built from official records. You are free to republish the figures and chart in news and research with attribution and a link back to this page.

Suggested citation
Honestly. The UK City-Centre Property Index (2026-08-07). Retrieved from https://usehonestly.co.uk/blog/uk-city-centre-index/

Download the full dataset (CSV)

Journalists and analysts: for the methodology, an interview or a custom city-centre cut, get in touch via honestly on Telegram.

Frequently asked questions

Which UK city centre is slowest to sell a flat?

Of the 94 city-centre districts tracked, N/A is slowest at N/A days on the market on average, while N/A is fastest at N/A days.

Why do asking prices sit below sold prices in some city centres?

In 0 of 94 districts the median asking price is below the median sold price. That is a mix effect, not a discount: the stock on the market today is smaller and cheaper than the trailing two years of completed sales, so the two medians measure different homes. Asking prices are vendor expectation, not evidence of value.

What is the most expensive UK city centre per square metre?

N/A is the most expensive at £0 per square metre of recorded sales; N/A is the most affordable at £0 per square metre.

Where does this data come from?

Sold prices and price per square metre are HM Land Registry data, the official record of completed transactions in each country. Live asking prices, days on market and stuck-stock counts are current listings. The two are reported side by side and never blended into a single figure. The full per-district table is downloadable as CSV.

Official statistics and further reading

Every figure on this page traces to official data. These are the primary public datasets and statutory guidance behind UK house-price reporting - go here to verify the record and dig deeper.