House prices show average £7,000 rise during first half of 2015
07-23-2015
Home owners have seen the value of their property climb by nearly £7,000 typically during the first half of 2015, a website has found.
Across Britain, the average home piled £6,974 onto its value between January and the start of July, according to Zoopla, meaning that a typical property is now worth £270,674.
Strong price rises were dotted across many areas of the country - and several places have seen stronger price growth than that seen in London this year so far.
Scotland experienced the highest rate of price growth at a regional level, with property prices there having surged by £11,382 or 6.6% over the first half of the year. Across Britain generally, property values are estimated by Zoopla to have increased by 2.7% over the last six months.
Wales was named as the worst-performing region for property price increases over the first half of 2015, with a rise of 1%, or £1,584.
Edinburgh was named as the best-performing city for house price growth this year so far, with the average home there having added £20,465 to its value in the last six months.
In Colchester, average property values have increased by £19,088 over the last six months, while in Aberdeen they have increased by £15,416, in Warrington they have lifted by £8,305 and in Hull they have seen an upswing of £6,175. In Reading, house prices have increased by £15,306 on average over the first half of the year.
In London, values have increased by £14,385, or 2.5% over the last six months, pushing the average property value there to £599,162.
Meanwhile, Rotherham topped the worst-performing list, with average property values there estimated to have dipped by £2,752 or 2.1% over the last six months. Wolverhampton, Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Bradford were also listed among the worst performers.
The findings are based on Zoopla's estimates of the current worth of property prices across Britain.
Zoopla spokesman Lawrence Hall said: "The strong regional figures across the board indicate an economy which is returning to health, with a series of Government incentives designed to encourage home-buying helping to boost demand for property in all parts of Britain."
He suggested that the surge in property values in Scotland is partly due to a "post-referendum bounce".