UK housing market still driven by location

Published 03rd Jan 2011

House prices in south of England set to outperform again in 2011 according to Halifax survey


Property in Conwy, north Wales, increased in value by an average of 13% during the past year, the biggest rise in house prices experienced by any UK county, according to the annual Halifax county house price survey.

The average house price in Conwy rose £18,506 from £144,185 in 2009 to £162,691 in 2010. Homeowners in East Dunbartonshire benefitted from the second biggest increase of 12%, seeing the average house price rise from £177,048 to £197,700.

The survey, which analyses house-price data for 102 counties across the UK – treating the unitary authorities of Scotland and Wales as counties – found that although property in seven of the top 10 performing counties had above the national average value of £179,502 in 2010, the third biggest increase was in Dumfries & Galloway, where prices are substantially below the national average. The average house price here rose 11% from £126,061 in 2009 to £139,578 this year.

Ten of the 20 counties delivering the highest house price growth in 2010 are in the south-east or the south-west. In contrast, just two counties in the north of England – Cheshire (5%) and County Durham (4%) – are in the top 20.

Fourteen counties have an average house price in excess of £200,000, with Surrey the most expensive county in the UK with an average house price of £296,344. Blaenau Gwent in Wales, with an average house price of £86,385, is the least expensive county in which to buy a home.

Over five years many of the counties delivering the biggest house price growth were Scottish. The best performing country was Aberdeenshire, where the average house price has increased by 46%. Seven of the top 10 performing counties over five years are in Scotland, while the remaining three are in Northern Ireland.

Only three English counties – Oxfordshire, Somerset and East Sussex – made it into the top 20 over five years.

However, 36 out of the 102 counties saw prices fall during 2010. The worst five performers (or best if you are trying to buy your first home) were Anglesey and Merthyr Tydfil (-12%), Flintshire (-13%), County Tyrone (-15%) and the Western Isles (-18%).

Suren Thiru, housing economist at Halifax, said the outperformance of property in the south was likely to continue: "We predict that UK house prices at the end of 2011 will be at a broadly similar level to that at the end of 2010. Prices are expected to be strongest in southern England as this part of the country is likely to fare better economically.

"House prices outside southern England are likely to be constrained by a greater dependence on public-sector employment at a time when this sector will be under pressure due to the government's public spending reductions," said Thiru

However, many other house price analysts are predicting price falls in 2011, following a decline in values during the second half of 2010. Data published by the Land Registry yesterday showed that house prices had fallen 0.6% from October to November, producing an annual price increase of 2.2%, down from 3.4% last month. The average property value fell from £165,505 to £164,773.

Source: ' Guardian '

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