Yahoo Finance Property hotspots of the decade: top 10 UK areas for 10-year house price growth revealed
London’s property market is trailing the rest of England post pandemic, but it still retains its crown as the UK’s property hotspot according to new research published today.
Nine out of the 10 locations which have seen the biggest jump in prices in the past decade are in the capital, led by Waltham Forest where prices grown 126 per cent since 2011 — against national average growth of 55 per cent.
Back in 2011 the average price in the borough was just under £217,000. Now it is almost £491,000.
Hackney is another area which as seen a dramatic property transformation, with prices up 105 per cent to an average of £604,000. Outlying Barking and Dagenham, which has benefitted from a ripple of buyers moving to the suburbs to find affordable homes and intensive house building, has seen prices rise by 96 per cent, to an average of £317,000.
Watch: Martin Roberts shares some top tips on the things to look out for when buying a house
The only location beyond London to make today’s top ten, in a study by A-Plan Insurance, is Bristol, where prices have increased by almost 87 per cent. Average prices there are also £317,000.
East and south-east London dominates the price growth hotpot list, with Newham, Bexley, and Greenwich also making the top ten.
In south London Lewisham leads with price growth of almost 91 per cent, while Haringey, in north London, chalked up growth of 89 per cent. Despite its post-downturn boom, none of the central London boroughs have performed as strongly, and the sole representative of south-west London is Merton, where prices are up 85 per cent.
“Affordability has been the single biggest driver of the market in the past decade,” said James Hyman, head of residential at Cluttons. “People have been pushed out seeking value for money.”
Top UK areas for 10-year house price growth
Area | Average house price in March 2021 | Average house price in March 2011 | Percentage change over 10 years |
Waltham Forest | £490,895 | £216,578 | 127 |
Hackney | £604,466 | £294,425 | 105 |
Barking and Dagenham | £317,185 | £161,660 | 96 |
Lewisham | £432,500 | £226,623 | 91 |
Haringey | £607,029 | £320,711 | 89 |
Newham | £378,862 | £201,980 | 88 |
City of Bristol | £317,210 | £169,872 | 87 |
Merton | £557,445 | £300,667 | 85 |
Bexley | £367,015 | £198,333 | 85 |
Greenwich | £416,306 | £226,218 | 84 |
Source: A-Plan Insurance | ONS UK House Price Index, March 2021
Transport improvements, notably the arrival of the East London Line, has had a big impact on east and south east London, and it is possible that Crossrail could do the same in outer West London and the Essex fringes over the next decade.
“Affordability is still going to be the biggest thing, and houses as opposed to apartments,” said Hyman. “So, locations where there are houses being built, rather than flats, could benefit because the pandemic has really taught us the value of space.”
Lucian Cook, director of residential research at Savills, said housing markets tend to operate in cycles, and it is currently London’s turn to take a back seat after very strong growth in the early noughties.
“In the period from 2005 to 2016 house prices in London pulled away from the rest of the country to an extent we had not seen previously,” he said. “What has happened is that some areas have now hit against the limits which people are able to borrow, and other areas will start to play catch up.”
Watch: Martin Roberts explains the new rules surrounding stamp duty
Read More
Homes in the sales pipeline reach record high ahead of stamp duty holiday deadline
