The St Albans property market has seen one of Britain's biggest increases in competition between buyers over the last year.

According to new research by Rightmove, competition in the cathedral city has risen by 26 per cent in the 12 months to May 2022.

This puts St Albans in eighth place in the portal's countdown of cities where buyer competition has increased the most, behind top-ranking Bath (49 per cent), Carlisle (42 per cent), Newcastle-upon-Tyne (36 per cent) and London (35 per cent).

Competition is measured by the number of buyers contacting estate agents, compared with the number of properties available. The average increase in competition in Britain’s 50 largest cities was 13 per cent.

Rightmove also noted that the average asking price in St Albans in May was a hefty £669,020.

While there are signs of the market easing off in some of the main hotspots, the portal said things remain "very busy" compared to the more normal market of 2019, adding that the imbalance between supply and demand will "take many months to calibrate".