House prices soar in major UK cities - and this is just the beginning
08-22-2015
House prices in major cities on track for double digit growth this year as London sets "new highs for prices and affordability"
House prices across the UK's largest cities jumped by the highest quarterly level in 11 years as demand for housing continued to outstrip supply, according to property analyst Hometrack
Hometrack said overall city level house price inflation remained on track for 10pc growth this year, from its July rate of 8.5pc
By Agencies
House prices across the UK's largest cities jumped by the highest quarterly level in 11 years as demand for housing continued to outstrip supply, according to property analyst Hometrack.
The report said house prices across the country's major cities lifted 4.3pc in the three months to July, the highest quarterly growth since 2004.
It also adds there is scope for further inflation as nine of the 20 cities the survey monitors still have average prices that are lower than their 2007 peak.
It said overall city level house price inflation remains on track for 10pc growth this year, from its July rate of 8.5pc.
The report said a combination of low mortgage rates, economic growth and rising earnings continue to stimulate demand and put upward pressure on house prices.
But it adds that in all of the 20 cities it surveys, except Aberdeen, house price growth is greater than the current 2.4pc increase in average earnings.
It said a new cluster of cities are beginning to "snap at the heels" of year-on-year house price growth of front-running key cities in the South East.
The survey said house prices in Bristol grew 8.6pc over 12 months, with Edinburgh rising 8pc and Southampton lifting 7.1pc over the same period.
However, at the head of the pack is Cambridge, which saw prices grow 10.9pc year-on-year, followed by Oxford at 9.8pc and London with 9.4pc growth.
Hometrack director of research Richard Donnell said: "There remains further upside for city level house prices over the remainder of 2015."
He added: "As an international city, London is out on its own, setting new highs for prices and affordability.
"How long this can be sustained is down to the prospects for the different segments of demand, specifically international buyers, domestic investors and domestic home owners."
The three cities that are furthest below their 2007 peaks are Belfast, where average house prices are 47.6pc of what they were in eight years ago, followed by Liverpool, where prices are 13.2pc cheaper, and Glasgow, where they are 11.2pc lower.
Separate data released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders this week showed British households borrowed more in July than in any month since the eve of the financial crisis in the middle of 2008.