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U.K. Prime Regional and Country House Prices Rose Slightly in 2017

Prices in London dropped 3.5%, while Edinburgh’s townhouse market rose 5.3%
By Liz Lucking

Mansion Global
Market Reports

Edinburgh, Scotland
Sylvain Sonnet/Getty Images
Prices for prime regional and country houses in the U.K. logged minimal price rises of 0.7% in 2017, the lowest figure since mid-2013, according to a report released Thursday by London-based real estate firm Savills.
“In common with the wider U.K. housing market, political and economic uncertainty has translated into buyer caution,” the report read.

Midlands and the North—an area that saw big growth last year thanks to improving job numbers and affordability— had the highest price rise of 2.4%, according to the report. This was followed by a 1.9% rise in the Wider South of England and a 1.6% rise in Scotland, the report said.

London reported the weakest price performance of the regions Savills analyzed, with prices dropping 3.5%.

The market in the famed academic city of Cambridge, where prices have soared 37.4% in the past five years, seems to finally be softening, with prices increasing just 1.9% in 2017.

It’s been eclipsed by another historic city. Edinburgh’s townhouse market was the star performer of 2017, with price growth of 5.3%, despite the dampening effect of the aggressive Land and Buildings Transaction Tax—a Scottish property tax that replaced the Stamp Duty Land Tax in 2015—on the traditional manor house market, according to the report.

While homes worth between £500,000 (US$695,025) and £1 million (US$1.39 million) have seen marginal price growth of 1.4% over the past year, the £2 million-plus (US$2.78 million-plus) market has seen even smaller gains of 1.2%. During the past five years, the value of properties in the £500,000 to £1 million price bracket have grown by 14.7%. Those worth £2 million-plus have shown no value growth, the report said.

“There is little to indicate that the price-sensitive nature of the market will change greatly over the next two years,” read the report. “Despite progress in negotiations to leave the E.U., uncertainty over the economic repercussions remain.”

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