Unemployment levels are causing a divide in house prices between the north and south of the country.
New research from Lloyds Bank found that average property prices in places with high levels of unemployment have increased by just £4,100, or 3%, since 2009. However, values in areas with high employment numbers rose by £65,000, or 25%, over the same period.
The best performers were Hart and Winchester in Hampshire, whereas Middlesbrough and Hull were the worst.
Lloyds Bank’s Andy Hulme says the findings “underlined the importance of local economic health in house price behaviour.”1
1 Taylor, J. (2015) ‘Job prospects cause a house price divide’, Metro, 18 May, p.26