As the year draws to a close, the Halifax has presented a rundown of Britain’s top house price performers during 2015.
Research from the firm has revealed that Newham in London recorded the largest percentage rise in property price values in major UK towns and cities during the past year.
Ups
The Halifax’s own house price data reveals that the average house price in Newham was 22% greater than in the last year. Property prices rose from £261,399 to £319,522 in 2015. This represents almost double the 12% that London recorded as a whole.
Royston in Hertfordshire saw the second highest rise in average house prices, with an increase of 19%.
Unsurprisingly, the top-ten performers were all in London and in the South East.
Outside of these areas, Stroud in Gloucestershire, Wellingborough in Northamptonshire and Solihul in the West Midlands were the regions with the largest growth. All recorded price increases of between 14-15%.
Britain’s top house price performers in 2015 revealed
Downs
Just a few towns recorded a decline in house price values during the last year. The greatest was in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales where prices slumped by 3.8%. Colwyn Bay saw prices dip by 2.3%, Durham 2.1% and Coalville 0.5%.
The top-ten worst performers were all located outside of London and the South East, with the exception of Kensington and Chelsea, where prices rose by just 1% during 2015.
‘Those areas that have seen the biggest house price increases over the past year are either in outer London or within close commuting distance of the capital,’ noted Martin Ellis, housing economist at the Halifax. ‘Demand in these areas has risen as rapid house price rises in central London in the past few years have caused increasing numbers of people to look for property in more affordable areas.’ [1]
‘A few towns have experienced modest price falls,’ he continued, before stating that, ‘these areas are typically stiff suffering from relatively weak employment and economic conditions, which has dampened local housing demand.’[1]
[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/where-is-the-uks-top-house-price-performer-in-2015.html