It’s safe to say that house price indices this year have painted a mixed picture of the value of our homes in Britain.
While Halifax last week said prices had risen “unexpectedly” by 1.6 percent a year, another survey from Nationwide claimed they had fallen by 3.1 percent – the biggest drop in 14 years.
This confusing picture makes it difficult to decipher what exactly is going on with house prices. But one thing is certain: property prices have exploded in many parts of the country over the past decade.
A thorough analysis of the most recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) data for Money Mail by estate agents Hamptons International shows that property prices in 17 areas of the UK have more than doubled since 2013.
If you own a home in the pockets around the Essex and Kent Estuary or near Manchester, you are likely to be one of the big winners.
And there are no longer any areas where a typical home costs less than £100,000.
Here we look at the development of house prices over the past ten years…
House price rise: a comprehensive analysis of the latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows that property prices in 17 areas of the UK have more than doubled since 2013 (table below)
Trendy East London
At the top of the house price boom for percentage growth over the past decade is Waltham Forest, on the border between London and Essex. The two major areas in this borough are Chingford and Walthamstow.
Prices have risen from £235,210 to £515,320 – an overall growth of £280,110, or 119 per cent. In the last year, values have risen to £37,291.
Henry Sherwood, managing director of The Buying Agents, which advises home buyers, says: ‘The area has performed incredibly well for both home buyers and investors over the last decade.
“Ten years ago it was popular with first- and second-rate homebuyers because you could get a beautiful Victorian terrace for less than half a million.”
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, says: ‘Waltham Forest, which borders Stratford, has benefited enormously from redevelopment spearheaded by the 2012 Olympics.’
Hastings, in East Sussex, takes the silver medal, with property values in the seaside town rising by £157,940 – or 115 per cent – from just £137,090 a decade ago to £295,030.
Josh Avis, from Phillip Mann estate agents in Seaford, East Sussex, near Hastings, says: ‘We get a lot of movers from London, particularly South and East London, who want a different pace of life and want to be by the sea are. ‘
A year ago, the average home in Hastings cost £21,061 less than it does today.
Hotspot: At the top of the house price boom for growth over the past decade is Waltham Forest, on the border between London and Essex, where prices have risen Prices have risen by 119%
Thanet, in Kent, which includes Broadstairs, Margate and Ramsgate, takes bronze, with a £170,200 increase in value, from £147,950 to £318,150 since 2013. They are up £26,670 in the last year.
Mr Sherwood says working from home is a factor here, adding: ‘Thanet has always been popular with the creative and artsy set and it has really boomed with the advent of technology.’
The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham takes fourth place, while Bristol takes fifth place. Values in this great city have risen by £186,100 from £177,130 a decade ago to £363,230 today, with an influx of creatives and young buyers.
Estuary tree
One of the clearest trends from the Hamptons data is how much property prices have risen in the parts of Essex and Kent, clustered around the River Thames, east of London.
This trend is probably due to the proximity to London, with good train connections, but also because people are looking for value for money.
Mr. Sherwood says, “For many buyers, it was worth making a few extra stops for an extra bedroom or 10-15 percent more interior space.”
Nearly half of the 20 areas with the highest percentage growth in property prices are in these areas: Rochford, Thurrock, Basildon, Southend-on-Sea and Castle Point in Essex; Thanet, Medway and Swale in Kent, and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
All in all, buying the average property in any of these nine areas would have cost a buyer £174,640 in 2013, our analysis shows. Now that figure stands at £356,002 – more than double. It means properties have added an average of £18,136 in value over the last ten years.
Manchester is thriving
Four of the top 20 areas for property price growth are in or around Manchester — Tameside, Trafford, Salford and the city centre.
Buying in one of these areas ten years ago would normally have cost £130,495. Today that figure stands at £261,610 – a doubling in ten years. Values have increased by £13,111 every year since 2013.
Mr Sherwood says: ‘Much of this growth has come from investors, as the entry price in Manchester was half that in the south.’
Northern winners: Four of the top 20 areas for property price growth are in and around Manchester – Tameside, Trafford, Salford and the city center
No areas under £100,000
In 2013, there were 28 areas in Britain where you could buy a typical house for less than £100,000. They are not there now.
Ten years ago, £100,000 would have bought you a house in seven areas of both Scotland and Northern Ireland and six in the North West.
In Wales, four areas had average prices below this level, as did two areas in the East Midlands and one each in Yorkshire and the Humber and West Midlands.
The average house in Nottingham cost £99,010 in 2013 – now it is £193,860. That rapid growth puts it just outside the top 20 locations with the largest percentage price increase.
Burnley in Lancashire holds the title of cheapest place to buy. It costs £117,320 on average, compared to £71,040 a decade ago.
Lowest growth in posh London
At the bottom of the pile for house price increases over the past decade is Aberdeen. It’s the only area on the entire list where values have fallen, down 15 percent over the past decade. Aberdeenshire as a whole experienced growth of 19 percent.
Hamptons points out that the Scottish city is “a unique market, largely influenced by the ups and downs of the oil industry.”
Rounding out the bottom five for percentage growth are some of the most exclusive parts of London: Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham and Westminster.
Prices in these districts rose by 21 percent, 23 percent and 25 percent respectively.
But as they were already so high in these areas, they have still seen values rise to £218,640, £140,400 and £185,800 respectively.
According to the ONS data, Kensington remains the only area in the country where a typical home costs seven figures – from £1,061,390 10 years ago to £1,280,030 today.
Mr. Sherwood says, “A lot of owners just don’t need to sell in tough times, so they just ride out price volatility.”
Will prices double again?
Aneisha Beveridge believes it is unlikely that we will see house prices rise as much in the next decade as we have seen in the past decade.
She says: “Affordability is limited and mortgage rates are likely to remain higher for the next decade, limiting buyers’ ability and willingness to spend on their homes.
“We think the current real estate cycle will come to an end in the coming years and from 2025 we expect history to repeat itself.”
l.boyce@dailymail.co.uk
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