House prices in major cities SOAR... and will KEEP rising
08-23-2015
HOUSE prices in Britain’s major cities have soared by an average 4.3 per cent in the three months to July – the biggest quarterly leap in 11 years.
By Will Nott
Letting agent signs
GETTY
House prices are soaring and show no signs of letting up
Low mortgage rates, economic growth and rising earnings are stimulating demand, says a report.
Property analyst Hometrack found that huge demand for urban housing has outstripped supply.
Now the average price for a house across the top 20 largest cities in Britain has reached £227,100.
Further inflation is still on the cards as nine of the 20 cities monitored by the survey still have average prices that are lower than their 2007 peak, the report said.
The findings suggest that overall city house price inflation remains on track for 10 per cent growth this year, from its July rate of 8.5 per cent.
However, except for Aberdeen where it was minus 0.7, in all of the 20 cities surveyed, house price growth is greater than the current 2.4 per cent increase in average earnings.
In Newcastle upon Tyne it was just 2.5 per cent, while in Liverpool, Cardiff and Birmingham it was 4.1 per cent, 4.3 and 4.8 respectively.
"As an international city, London is out on its own"
Hometrack director of research, Richard Donnell
Other cities, however, are snapping at the heels of London in the price increases league.
House prices in Bristol grew 8.6 per cent over 12 months, with Edinburgh rising 8 per cent and Southampton soaring by 7.1 per cent over the same period.
Popular cities like Cambridge, Oxford and London led the way with growth of 10.9 per cent, 9.8 per cent and 9.4 per cent respectively.
Hometrack director of research, Richard Donnell, said: “There remains a further upside for city house prices over the remainder of 2015.
“As an international city, London is out on its own. 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.”
Despite the rises, average house prices in Belfast are less than half of what they were eight years ago.
And the average house in Liverpool is 13.2 per cent cheaper than in 2007, while in Glasgow prices have dropped by 11.2 per cent.