HomesIndex

Local market reportsBL area › BL2

BL2 local market report Bolton

Every figure on this page comes from the public record: 21,823 sales registered with HM Land Registry in BL2 (Bolton) since 1995, each one a completed purchase at a real price, plus current rental figures from the ONS. Nothing here is a valuation, an estimate or an asking price.

Sales data to May 2026. Rents: ONS, May 2026. Regenerated with every monthly data refresh.

BL2 is the postcode district covering Bolton centre, Ainsworth, Bradley Fold in Bolton. Districts are a practical way to slice a market: small enough to mean something locally, big enough to have a steady flow of sales to measure.

Where BL2 sits

Click the map to open BL2 on the live map, with every sale plotted at its address. The average pricing view shades the whole country the same way.

BL3BL8BL4M26BL1BL7M45BL0BL9BL5M25BL6OL10OL11M24OL12WN2BL2
£196,000median sold price, 2026
+28%five-year change (cash)
554sales in the last 12 months
5.4%gross rental yield (est.)

What a home in BL2 sells for

The 2026 median in BL2 is £196,000, from 161 registered sales; the mean, £207,400, sits modestly above it, the usual shape of a market with an expensive tail.

For scale: the England and Wales median is £274,000, so BL2 trades 28% below the country as a whole.

The price of a typical BL2 home, 1995 to 2026

The median as recorded at the time, and each year restated in today's money (ONS CPIH), the sharper test of whether homes really got dearer. Hover for the year-by-year figures; click a legend entry to isolate a series.

Price at the timeIn today's money (CPIH)
£63k£125k£188k£250k1995200020052010201520202026 1995: £43,000 at the time · £91,292 in today's money · 599 sales1996: £44,000 at the time · £90,627 in today's money · 726 sales1997: £45,200 at the time · £90,531 in today's money · 712 sales1998: £45,500 at the time · £89,700 in today's money · 710 sales1999: £47,800 at the time · £93,038 in today's money · 793 sales2000: £47,000 at the time · £90,083 in today's money · 713 sales2001: £51,000 at the time · £95,755 in today's money · 895 sales2002: £56,500 at the time · £103,822 in today's money · 1,002 sales2003: £63,000 at the time · £113,351 in today's money · 996 sales2004: £84,000 at the time · £148,997 in today's money · 913 sales2005: £95,000 at the time · £165,113 in today's money · 776 sales2006: £107,000 at the time · £181,400 in today's money · 746 sales2007: £120,000 at the time · £198,800 in today's money · 962 sales2008: £115,000 at the time · £184,107 in today's money · 439 sales2009: £107,400 at the time · £168,614 in today's money · 373 sales2010: £105,000 at the time · £160,821 in today's money · 371 sales2011: £105,000 at the time · £154,808 in today's money · 437 sales2012: £108,000 at the time · £155,250 in today's money · 342 sales2013: £115,000 at the time · £161,609 in today's money · 403 sales2014: £115,000 at the time · £159,337 in today's money · 567 sales2015: £118,500 at the time · £163,530 in today's money · 643 sales2016: £124,200 at the time · £169,699 in today's money · 776 sales2017: £131,000 at the time · £174,498 in today's money · 892 sales2018: £135,000 at the time · £175,755 in today's money · 745 sales2019: £130,500 at the time · £167,059 in today's money · 707 sales2020: £135,000 at the time · £171,074 in today's money · 709 sales2021: £153,000 at the time · £189,194 in today's money · 895 sales2022: £172,200 at the time · £197,208 in today's money · 766 sales2023: £170,000 at the time · £182,426 in today's money · 662 sales2024: £185,000 at the time · £192,099 in today's money · 680 sales2025: £193,000 at the time · £193,000 in today's money · 712 sales2026: £196,000 at the time · £196,000 in today's money · 161 sales
See this chart as a table
YearMedian (cash)Median (today's £)Sales
2026£196,000£196,000161
2025£193,000£193,000712
2024£185,000£192,099680
2023£170,000£182,426662
2022£172,200£197,208766
2021£153,000£189,194895
2020£135,000£171,074709
2019£130,500£167,059707
2018£135,000£175,755745
2017£131,000£174,498892
2016£124,200£169,699776
2015£118,500£163,530643
2014£115,000£159,337567
2013£115,000£161,609403
2012£108,000£155,250342
2011£105,000£154,808437
2010£105,000£160,821371
2009£107,400£168,614373
2008£115,000£184,107439
2007£120,000£198,800962
2006£107,000£181,400746
2005£95,000£165,113776
2004£84,000£148,997913
2003£63,000£113,351996
2002£56,500£103,8221,002
2001£51,000£95,755895
2000£47,000£90,083713
1999£47,800£93,038793
1998£45,500£89,700710
1997£45,200£90,531712
1996£44,000£90,627726
1995£43,000£91,292599

In cash terms the typical BL2 home went from £43,000 in 1995 to £196,000 in 2026, roughly 5 times the price. Even after inflation that is a real rise of about 115%: homes here genuinely became dearer, not just more expensive on paper.

Year-on-year change in the BL2 median

Each bar is the change on the year before, in cash. The zero line is the boundary between rising and falling.

+50% -50% 0% 1996 · +2.3% on the year before1997 · +2.7% on the year before1998 · +0.7% on the year before1999 · +5.1% on the year before2000 · −1.7% on the year before2001 · +8.5% on the year before2002 · +10.8% on the year before2003 · +11.5% on the year before2004 · +33.3% on the year before2005 · +13.1% on the year before2006 · +12.6% on the year before2007 · +12.1% on the year before2008 · −4.2% on the year before2009 · −6.6% on the year before2010 · −2.2% on the year before2011 · +0.0% on the year before2012 · +2.9% on the year before2013 · +6.5% on the year before2014 · +0.0% on the year before2015 · +3.0% on the year before2016 · +4.8% on the year before2017 · +5.5% on the year before2018 · +3.1% on the year before2019 · −3.3% on the year before2020 · +3.4% on the year before2021 · +13.3% on the year before2022 · +12.5% on the year before2023 · −1.3% on the year before2024 · +8.8% on the year before2025 · +4.3% on the year before2026 · +1.6% on the year before200020052010201520202026

The strongest year on record here is 2004 (+33.3% on the year before); the weakest, 2009 (−6.6%). Single-year swings like these are why the annualised table below matters more than any one year's headline.

Annualised returns

PeriodCash, per yearReal terms, per year
1 years (since 2025)+1.6%+1.6%
5 years (since 2021)+5.1%+0.7%
10 years (since 2016)+4.7%+1.5%
20 years (since 2006)+3.1%+0.4%

Compound annual growth of the median sold price; the real column deflates by ONS CPIH. Annualised figures smooth the cycle (the chart above shows the cycle), and past growth is a record, not a forecast.

Transaction volumes

How many homes change hands

Recorded sales per year. The dip after 2008 is the financial crisis; the last bar is still filling in as recent sales get registered.

1,0002,000 1995: 599 sales1996: 726 sales1997: 712 sales1998: 710 sales1999: 793 sales2000: 713 sales2001: 895 sales2002: 1,002 sales2003: 996 sales2004: 913 sales2005: 776 sales2006: 746 sales2007: 962 sales2008: 439 sales2009: 373 sales2010: 371 sales2011: 437 sales2012: 342 sales2013: 403 sales2014: 567 sales2015: 643 sales2016: 776 sales2017: 892 sales2018: 745 sales2019: 707 sales2020: 709 sales2021: 895 sales2022: 766 sales2023: 662 sales2024: 680 sales2025: 712 sales2026: 161 sales1995200020052010201520202026

The last five years, month by month

Monthly registrations. The sawtooth is seasonal; the register runs weeks behind completions at the right-hand edge.

100200 June 2021 · 97 sales registeredJuly 2021 · 62 sales registeredAugust 2021 · 74 sales registeredSeptember 2021 · 102 sales registeredOctober 2021 · 56 sales registeredNovember 2021 · 69 sales registeredDecember 2021 · 58 sales registeredJanuary 2022 · 50 sales registeredFebruary 2022 · 52 sales registeredMarch 2022 · 68 sales registeredApril 2022 · 62 sales registeredMay 2022 · 56 sales registeredJune 2022 · 55 sales registeredJuly 2022 · 93 sales registeredAugust 2022 · 71 sales registeredSeptember 2022 · 54 sales registeredOctober 2022 · 62 sales registeredNovember 2022 · 80 sales registeredDecember 2022 · 63 sales registeredJanuary 2023 · 57 sales registeredFebruary 2023 · 44 sales registeredMarch 2023 · 52 sales registeredApril 2023 · 33 sales registeredMay 2023 · 61 sales registeredJune 2023 · 49 sales registeredJuly 2023 · 67 sales registeredAugust 2023 · 48 sales registeredSeptember 2023 · 62 sales registeredOctober 2023 · 64 sales registeredNovember 2023 · 66 sales registeredDecember 2023 · 59 sales registeredJanuary 2024 · 50 sales registeredFebruary 2024 · 54 sales registeredMarch 2024 · 55 sales registeredApril 2024 · 48 sales registeredMay 2024 · 57 sales registeredJune 2024 · 35 sales registeredJuly 2024 · 67 sales registeredAugust 2024 · 67 sales registeredSeptember 2024 · 55 sales registeredOctober 2024 · 74 sales registeredNovember 2024 · 58 sales registeredDecember 2024 · 60 sales registeredJanuary 2025 · 47 sales registeredFebruary 2025 · 53 sales registeredMarch 2025 · 115 sales registeredApril 2025 · 41 sales registeredMay 2025 · 63 sales registeredJune 2025 · 44 sales registeredJuly 2025 · 51 sales registeredAugust 2025 · 61 sales registeredSeptember 2025 · 60 sales registeredOctober 2025 · 70 sales registeredNovember 2025 · 50 sales registeredDecember 2025 · 57 sales registeredJanuary 2026 · 31 sales registeredFebruary 2026 · 42 sales registeredMarch 2026 · 45 sales registeredApril 2026 · 32 sales registeredMay 2026 · 11 sales registered

BL2 recorded 554 sales in the last twelve months of data. Like most of England and Wales, turnover never fully recovered from 2008: the market here averaged 875 sales a year before the financial crisis and 596 a year over the last five. Volume matters as much as price: when few homes change hands, the median gets jumpy and a single street can move the figure. The most recent year is always still filling in, because sales appear in the Land Registry weeks or months after completion.

What homes rent for around BL2

BL2 falls under Bolton, where the ONS puts the average private rent at £883 a month (May 2026 figures). A one-bed averages £646 a month here and a four-or-more-bed £1,433, so size does most of the work in setting the rent.

Average monthly rent by size, Bolton

ONS Price Index of Private Rents, May 2026.

1 bed: £646 a month£6461 bed2 bed: £805 a month£8052 bed3 bed: £975 a month£9753 bed4+ bed: £1,433 a month£1,4334+ bed

Set against the £196,000 median sold price, £883 a month is £10,596 a year, a gross yield of 5.4%: gross, before letting costs, voids, maintenance and tax, so a ceiling rather than a promise. Rents are published at local-authority level, so nearby districts in the same authority share these figures.

Will BL2 prices rise from here?

Nobody can tell you that, and this page will not pretend to. What the record shows: the median is up 28% over five years in cash and up 4% after inflation. If you are weighing a purchase, read the volume chart alongside the price one, and remember that every figure here is a completed sale, lagged by the weeks it takes the Land Registry to register it.

Ladders and snakes: five-year risers and fallers

BL2 ranks 3 of 10 in the BL area on five-year growth. The gap between the top and bottom of this chart is the difference between buying well and buying badly in the same city.

Five-year change in the median, BL area districts

The biggest risers and fallers in cash terms; every row links to that district's report.

BL3BL3 · +38% over five years · median £180,000+38%BL4BL4 · +31% over five years · median £175,000+31%BL2BL2 · +28% over five years · median £196,000+28%BL9BL9 · +23% over five years · median £200,000+23%BL1BL1 · +20% over five years · median £166,200+20%BL0BL0 · +16% over five years · median £260,000+16%BL8BL8 · +12% over five years · median £241,200+12%BL5BL5 · +11% over five years · median £212,500+11%BL6BL6 · +6% over five years · median £202,200+6%BL7BL7 · −8% over five years · median £236,500−8%

Inside BL2, street group by street group

Postcode sectors are the next slice down, each a group of streets. Prices can differ sharply between two sectors a few minutes' walk apart.

SectorMedian (latest)Sales that year
BL2 1£152,00015
BL2 2£154,60026
BL2 3£262,00039
BL2 4£255,00019
BL2 5£180,00023
BL2 6£162,00039

How BL2 compares nearby

Same city, different markets. The neighbouring districts of the BL area, dearest first:

DistrictMedian5-year
BL0£260,000+16%
BL8£241,200+12%
BL7£236,500-8%
BL5£212,500+11%
BL6£202,200+6%
BL9£200,000+23%
BL2 (this report)£196,000+28%
BL3£180,000+38%
BL4£175,000+31%
BL1£166,200+20%

Dig further

See every individual BL2 sale on the live map, mapped to the exact address, or the quick-reference BL2 price page. The report tool writes a custom answer to a specific question, and the mortgage and rent calculator on any sale runs the numbers on a real purchase.

How this page is made: the statistics are computed from HM Land Registry Price Paid Data (Crown copyright, OGL v3.0), geocoded to address level; inflation adjustment uses the ONS CPIH index; rents are the ONS Price Index of Private Rents at local-authority level. Medians of recorded sales, not valuations. Nothing on this page is financial advice.