House prices soar across the country as housing boom ripples out beyond South East
11-22-2014
PROPERTY in the UK's 20 biggest cities is soaring in value as the housing boom ripples out beyond the South East.
By: Sarah O'Grady
The housing boom in the South East is spreading across the UK GETTY
Cities as far apart as Edinburgh and Southampton have recorded plus-five per cent price rises this year for the first time in more than a decade, found new data.
And the average value of a city home has jumped 9.2 per cent over the last year to reach £185,700.
The pick-up in house prices that started two years ago has spread across all UK cities
Richard Donnell, research director at Hometrack
Property analyst Hometrack said that growth in house prices has ranged from a 5.5 per cent hike in both Liverpool and Glasgow to 17.3 per cent increase in London
This is the first time since November 2004 that all 20 cities have registered year-on-year house price increases of more than five per cent and by the end of the year, values in some cities outside the South East could be rising at a faster month-on-month rate than those in in the capital.
Richard Donnell, research director at Hometrack, said: "The pick-up in house prices that started two years ago has spread across all UK cities.
"For the first time since the financial crisis, an improved economic outlook has seen house prices in cities outside the south of England rising off a low base.
"By the end of the year, we could well see monthly house price growth in London slipping below that of some of the major cities outside the South East."
After London, Bristol has seen the second biggest annual upswing in property prices, at 13.2 per cent, followed by Cambridge at 12.2 per cent, Portsmouth at 9.4 per cent and Southampton at nine per cent.
Values have increased over the last year by 8.9 per cent in Oxford, 8.7 per cent in Edinburgh, 8.3 per cent in Belfast, 8.1 per cent in Nottingham, and by 7.9 per cent in both Aberdeen and Cardiff.
Despite the widespread uplifts, Hometrack said that there is also "clear evidence" that the upward pressure on house prices is starting to ease amid weakening demand from buyers.
It said that in the last three months, average UK house prices have grown by 0.6 per cent per month, which is almost half the rate of the increases of 1.1 per cent recorded in the three months to May this year.
Hometrack said the majority of cities are now starting to show signs of a cool down in the underlying pace of house price growth, with Oxford and Cambridge in particular seeing prices "come off the boil quite sharply" in recent months.
But Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle are bucking this general trend of slowing price growth. These cities saw house prices increase more gently earlier this year and are now seeing a pick-up.
The property group also suggested that price growth in Edinburgh and Glasgow has also been boosted by a post-independence referendum "bounce". There had been some signs of the housing market in Scotland grinding to a halt as potential buyers waited for the outcome of the referendum.
Toughened mortgage lending rules, which came into force in April, have bedded in, lenders say, and threats of an imminent interest rate rise have receded amid doubts about strength of economic recovery.
This has led to a mortgage price war on the High St as banks and building societies compete for customers.
Average house prices in the UK's 20 major cities in October and the year-on-year percentage growth in values:
1.London, £402,800, 17.3%
2.Bristol, £217,300, 13.2%
3.Cambridge, £331,000, 12.2%
4.Portsmouth, £194,700, 9.4%
5.Southampton, £189,500, 9.0%
6.Oxford, £333,400, 8.9%
7.Edinburgh, £194,400, 8.7%
8.Belfast, £114,900, 8.3%
9.Nottingham, £128,500, 8.1%
10.Aberdeen, £190,000, 7.9%
11.Cardiff, £176,400, 7.9%
12.Bournemouth, £242,300, 7.6%
13.Manchester, £137,000, 7.6%
14.Leeds, £140,400, 7.3%
15.Newcastle, £123,800, 6.9%
16.Leicester, £143,100, 6.3%
17.Birmingham, £133,700, 6.1%
18.Sheffield, £125,700, 5.7%
19.Liverpool, £109,700, 5.5%
20.Glasgow, £110,100, 5.5%