PropertyInvesting.net: property investment news: Revealed: Britain's property hotspots that have seen the biggest increase in value in 2020 after study showed the average house price has increased by £15,000 since June

Revealed: Britain's property hotspots that have seen the biggest increase in value in 2020 after study showed the average house price has increased by £15,000 since June

12-11-2020

Revealed: Britain's property hotspots that have seen the biggest increase in value in 2020 after study showed the average house price has increased by £15,000 since June

UK recorded its highest annual growth in house prices for almost three years
Zoopla's monthly House Price Index shows the UK recorded a growth of 3.5%
The North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, and Wales saw the highest growth

By JOE DAVIES FOR MAILONLINE

Britain's property hotspots that have seen the biggest increase in value in 2020 have been revealed.

The UK saw its highest annual house price growth for almost three years, with a rise of 3.5 per cent since the start of the year.

The North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, and Wales saw the highest growth in property values in 2020, each seeing growths of more than 4 per cent.

It comes after a study showed that the average house price in the UK has increased by £15,000 since June.

Britain's property hotspots that have seen the biggest increase in value in 2020 have been revealed. The UK saw its highest annual house price growth for almost three years, with a rise of 3.5 per cent since the start of the year

The biggest increase in house prices was seen in the northwest, which had an average rise of 4.4 per cent. Manchester saw a rise of 5.5 per cent since last year. Pictured: A flat in Salford Quays on sale for £178,400 (the average for the city)

Wales saw the second highest rise of 4.3 per cent. The capital Cardiff saw a slightly lower rise of 3.8 per cent. Pictured: A property in Cardiff selling for £215,100 (the average for the city)

Tom Parker, Consumer Spokesperson, Zoopla: 'Demand for property skyrocketed in the wake of lockdown and the subsequent stamp duty holiday, underpinning house price growth for 2020.

'In spite of the 50 day market closure, many homeowners in the UK have undertaken a once in a lifetime reevaluation of whether their home is delivering what they need - with many compelled to move as a result.

'Overall, the UK recorded annual price growth of 3.5% - the highest rate for almost three years.'

Regionally, the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, and Wales outperformed national growth, each recording in excess of 4% in house price increases over the past 12 month.

The third highest rise came in Yorkshire and the Humber, which saw a 4.3 per cent increase. Properties in Leeds rose in value by 4.9 per cent. Pictured: A property in Leeds selling for £174,400 (the average for the city)

The east midlands saw the fourth highest rise at 4.0 per cent. Nottingham saw a rise of 5.3 per cent. Pictured: A house on sale for £164,000 (the average for the city)

This was driven in part by a combination of steady demand and good affordability, according to Mr Parker.

He added: 'Nottingham and Manchester were the best performing cities, recording over 5% house price growth in 2020 compared to 2019.

'Without doubt, investment in these cities is paying off.

'At the other end of the spectrum, Aberdeen is the only UK city recording negative annual house price growth, currently running at -1.8%.

Zoopla's monthly House Price Index for October 2020
Geography	Name	Current price (Oct-20)	Annual change (Oct-20)	Monthly change	Quarterly Change	Annual change last year (Oct-19)	5yr annual change
UK	UK	£223,500	3.5%	0.7%	1.4%	1.2%	3.3%
REGION	North East	£117,500	2.5%	0.1%	1.0%	-0.1%	1.3%
REGION	North West	£156,800	4.4%	0.1%	1.3%	2.3%	3.6%
REGION	Yorkshire and the Humber	£154,000	4.2%	0.1%	1.3%	2.1%	3.3%
REGION	East Midlands	£189,200	4.0%	0.1%	1.3%	2.1%	4.4%
REGION	West Midlands	£188,800	3.6%	0.1%	1.1%	1.8%	4.2%
REGION	Eastern	£297,100	2.4%	0.1%	0.8%	0.1%	3.8%
REGION	London	£493,600	2.7%	0.1%	0.8%	0.2%	2.2%
REGION	South East	£342,700	2.6%	0.1%	0.8%	-0.5%	3.0%
REGION	South West	£263,400	3.2%	0.1%	0.9%	0.8%	3.6%
REGION	Northern Ireland	£137,400	3.0%	0.1%	1.7%	2.8%	3.0%
REGION	Scotland	£135,400	2.7%	0.2%	0.8%	2.4%	2.7%
REGION	Wales	£162,700	4.3%	0.2%	1.4%	3.5%	3.8%
CITY	Aberdeen	£141,800	-1.8%	0.1%	-1.1%	-4.4%	-4.7%
CITY	Belfast	£140,200	2.8%	0.0%	0.8%	2.9%	3.1%
CITY	Birmingham	£172,000	3.7%	0.1%	0.9%	2.6%	5.0%
CITY	Bournemouth	£293,100	1.9%	0.1%	0.6%	1.3%	3.3%
CITY	Bristol	£287,000	3.4%	0.1%	0.7%	1.5%	4.5%
CITY	Cambridge	£415,200	0.5%	0.0%	-0.1%	0.9%	1.8%
CITY	Cardiff	£215,100	3.8%	0.1%	0.9%	2.5%	3.8%
CITY	Edinburgh	£233,600	3.2%	0.0%	0.5%	3.6%	4.6%
CITY	Glasgow	£121,100	2.0%	0.1%	0.3%	3.1%	3.0%
CITY	Leeds	£174,400	4.9%	0.1%	1.0%	2.6%	4.2%
CITY	Leicester	£188,700	3.9%	0.1%	1.0%	4.2%	5.4%
CITY	Liverpool	£126,000	4.5%	0.2%	1.2%	3.1%	3.5%
CITY	London	£484,300	2.7%	0.1%	0.6%	-0.1%	2.2%
CITY	Manchester	£178,400	5.2%	0.1%	1.1%	3.4%	5.5%
CITY	Newcastle	£129,200	2.5%	0.1%	0.7%	0.3%	1.8%
CITY	Nottingham	£164,000	5.3%	0.1%	1.1%	3.2%	5.0%
CITY	Oxford	£406,800	2.1%	0.1%	0.7%	-1.4%	1.8%
CITY	Portsmouth	£244,000	2.9%	0.1%	0.6%	0.7%	3.8%
CITY	Sheffield	£142,600	3.8%	0.1%	1.1%	1.9%	3.6%
CITY	Southampton	£229,100	2.0%	0.0%	0.7%	0.0%	2.9%

'This is a result of the ongoing impact of the oil price crash - albeit the house price falls have started to show signs of improvement, up from a -4.4% recorded at the end of 2019.'

Halifax's latest monthly house price index - which is based on mortgage approvals rather than actual sales prices - shows the price of an average UK home jumped 1.2 per cent in November to £253,243.

The potential stamp duty holiday saving on the average home is £2,650, while the maximum saving on a property costing £500,000 or more is £15,000.

Compared to November last year, prices have risen 7.6 per cent annually, the fastest rate of property inflation in over four years - since June 2016. And the Halifax data suggests valuation have soared by a hefty 6.5 per cent since June.

The rise in prices in partly down to wealthy buyers targeting larger houses, experts say

The average house price on the index gained £3,000 in the last month alone, although monthly figures are volatile.

Halifax's managing director Russell Galley noted that the stamp duty saving of £2,500 on a home costing £250,000 are now 'far outweighed' by the average increase in house prices since July.

On 8 July, Chancellor Rishi Sunak slashed stamp duty on home purchases up to £500,000, with potential buyers looking to save a maximum £15,000 thanks to the cut.

Nicky Stevenson of estate agent group Fine & Country said Halifax's reading should be taken with a pinch of salt, as the index is based on mortgage approvals, not actual sale prices.

Booming market: Average house prices have risen by more than £15,000 since June and £3,000 in the last month alone, according to the latest index by mortgage lender Halifax +7
Booming market: Average house prices have risen by more than £15,000 since June and £3,000 in the last month alone, according to the latest index by mortgage lender Halifax

'Timetable pressure to complete before the stamp duty holiday closes at the end of March is mounting and many of the offers that underpin these numbers will not in fact take place,' she said.

'There’s still plenty of time before exchange for chains to suffer a misstep, pushing sales into April.

'This will force many of those who raised offers in haste to seal deals to scrutinise those valuations again,' she added.

'That said, there’s no doubt the market has been running a little riot lately and, on paper at least, the average hike in prices since the stamp duty holiday was introduced now eclipses the saving available.'

The price of an average UK home jumped 1.2 per cent in November to £253,243

Many home buyers have been rushing to buy to beat the stamp duty holiday deadline on 1 April 2021, resulting in mortgage approvals hitting a 13-year high last month and house sales jumping by almost 10 per cent in October.

October saw around 105,630 home sales take place, an extra 8,820 compared to September, according to the provisional figures by HMRC.

But Halifax said that, as the stamp duty deadline approaches, properties sold to home-movers saw a much bigger increase in price than first-time buyers' homes - the former rose 7.9 per cent while the latter saw in increase of 5.8 per cent.

Estate agents and experts agree that the mini-boom in the property market has been partly driven by wealthy buyers searching for larger houses with outside space where they can work from home.