Families stay put as house prices surge
05-29-2015
By Stephen Spurdon
People are taking longer between house moves as property prices grow by almost 10 per cent, according to new figures.
The latest house price figures show growth running at a yearly average of 9 per cent, with first-quarter 2015 growth of 1.4 per cent outpacing the same period last year by 0.2 per cent.
According to the Hometrack UK Cities House Price Index, this has led to people taking longer between moves.
The data shows the average time has more than doubled from 10 years in the 1980s to 21 now, with Liverpool topping the chart at 28.9 years.
The growth in property values is being fuelled by prices playing catch-up in 11 cities where they are still below their 2007 peak, with Belfast (down 49.1 per cent) showing the steepest falls since the crash.
Adviser View:
Matthew Bird, Newport-based investment and mortgage adviser at Seer Green, pointed to lack of supply as being the key factor. “It is a critical undersupply, particularly of family-type homes with three or four bedrooms. Not enough is being done to ease the pressure.”