House price chasm between North and South now 'widest ever' at £150,000
09-30-2015
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The average house price is now £195,585 in the UK Photo: John James /Alam
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By Elizabeth Anderson
The divide between house prices in the North and South of England has hit a record high, exceeding £150,000 for the first time.
Average prices in the South are now more than twice as high as those in the North - at £303,811 and £150,851 respectively - according to the latest Nationwide House Price Index.
Yorkshire and Humber, the North West and Scotland all recorded small declines in prices over the year to September. Property values in the North West fell 0.6pc year-on-year, making it the weakest performing English region.
This was in stark comparison to the South East, which saw prices rise by 5.5pc. The South West recorded growth of 5.1pc.
The gap is even more pronounced when focusing on the capital. The price of a typical home in the London is £443,399, more than double the UK average and three and a half times the price of the typical property in parts of the North of England, the cheapest region.
Prices in London rose 10.6pc in the three months over the summer, compared to a growth rate of 7.3pc in the spring.
Growth also accelerated in the commuter areas outside of London, with properties worth 9.5pc more than they were in September last year, compared with a 6.8pc year-on-year rise in August. Across the whole of the UK, prices rose 3.8pc in the year to September, and 0.5pc compared to the month before.
The average house price now stands at £195,585, having risen by £300 in the last month.
“The data in recent months provides some encouragement that the pace of house price increases may be stabilising close to the pace of earnings growth,” said Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide.
“However, the risk remains that construction activity will lag behind strengthening demand, putting upward pressure on house prices and eventually reducing affordability.”
There are also wide differences between England and other parts of the UK. The average house price in England is £239,842, a rise of 6pc in the past year.
Northern Ireland has also seen prices boom, with selling prices up 6.5pc to £127,562 in the year to September.
In Wales the average price for a property is £146,854, a 1.9pc annual increase. However, Scotland recorded a 1.3pc fall in house prices to £140,402.
Earlier this month, a separate survey suggested the average asking price for houses could hit £300,000 in three months.
Rightmove’s House Price Index indicated the monthly increase of £2,550 to £294,834 was the biggest September rise in 13 years.