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First-time buyers and young families from Liverpool are turning to the Wirral for their homes, according to local estate agents, regardless of rising house prices.
Office for National Statistics figures show the average house price in Wirral reached £217,000 in April, compared to £184,000 in Liverpool. Wirral prices rose 8.8% between January 2025 and 2026, the third highest increase in England, adding £18,000 to the average home's value. Liverpool saw a 6.5% rise over the same period.
Despite the headline price gap, according to the Liverpool Echo, estate agents say buyers are finding better value in Wirral once they look beyond premium areas like West Kirby that push up the borough-wide average.
Jon Golding, a property valuer at Liverpool-based Mags Property, which has recently expanded into Wirral, said the peninsula's location is its biggest draw. "Some areas of the Wirral are closer to the city centre than areas in Liverpool," he said. "Places like Hoylake and New Brighton have better transport links than a lot of Liverpool itself."
He pointed to the green spaces and proximity to beaches as key attractions. "There are some really nice areas in the Wirral, nice green spaces and it's only a stone's throw away from the beach no matter where you are."
Golding believes buyers get more for their money on this side of the water. "There's a six-bedroom house up for sale in Oxton, over £700,000. If you looked at a house like that in South Liverpool it'd cost well over a million," he said.
The regeneration of parts of Wirral is also attracting young families, with new-build estates creating fresh opportunities, according to Golding. He noted that while Liverpool's market is dominated by investors buying properties to rent or convert into HMOs, Wirral attracts more second-time buyers alongside first-timers. There were recent proposed plans to turn a defunct Wirral gym into a 24-room HMO sent to the council, so it can happen.
Adam Slinger, director at New Brighton-based Peterson and McCoy, said his agency regularly receives enquiries from Liverpool buyers. "The biggest thing is the competition for homes in Liverpool – with more competition you get higher prices," he said.
Many other locations in the Wirral have also been named as highly desirable by Rightmove, with several seaside towns across the peninsula making the cut.
