Prices in England and Wales are now higher than during the pre-crash property boom
07-30-2015
House prices in England and Wales have reached their highest level on record, according to the Land Registry.
The government’s June data shows an annual price increase of 5.4 per cent, taking the average property value in England and Wales to £181,619. Not only is this higher than the previous, pre-recession peak of £180,983 in November 2007, it is the highest price recorded in the 20 years since the Land Registry begun compiling the data.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the region with the biggest annual price increase is London which had an increase of 9.2 per cent. 21 boroughs had an annual increase of 10 per cent or more. Buyers who are being priced out of more central locations have increased demand in outer boroughs, such as Barney and Bexley.
Barking & Dagenham and Bexley were the only two boroughs where average house prices in June were below £300,000. In Kensington & Chelsea the average house costs £1.3 million.
Homelessness charity Shelter said that the government’s election promises on home ownership were looking increasingly empty, and that for many young people owning their own property was becoming a pipe dream.
However, there are significant regional variations; house prices are down by 1.6 per cent in Bolton, 1.1 per cent in Bradford and 0.6 per cent in Doncaster. The North East of England experienced the greatest monthly rise with a movement of 3 per cent.
Ruby Stockham is a staff writer at Left Foot Forward.