Yahoo Finance Revealed: UK cities with the fastest rising house prices — and it's not the one you think
Sheffield has had the biggest house price surge for a UK city, even as London prices jumped 6.8%, with average UK prices for a property in an urban area now standing at £238,144.
The city in the North of England saw house prices climb 18.9% to £228,353 in September. In January the average price for a house in Sheffield stood at £192,090, according to figures from Halifax.
Property prices in UK cities have surged at a higher rate than the rest of the country, with demand pushing prices up by 9.2% since the start of the year to an average of £238,144, compared to 7.9% in surrounding areas.
The end of lockdowns and the return to the office has pushed demand for houses in major cities across the country, as the COVID-induced 'race for space', that saw many move out of the urban centres, eased.
In the North West, Liverpool (8.9%) and Manchester (11.5%) have seen much stronger house price growth so far this year, compared to their surrounding areas (7.2% and 6.6% respectively).
In Bury, for example, prices have risen by just 1.3%.
In the North East however, the cities of Newcastle (6.4%), and Sunderland (5.3%) and Middlesbrough (-2.2%) saw lower growth than their surrounding areas.
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South Tyneside leads the way for house price growth in the region, up by 14% over the last nine months.
Growth in the surrounding areas (9.4%) of Birmingham has also been stronger than the city itself (8.6%) this year. For example, the market town of Walsall has seen property price inflation of 16.4% over the same period.
In Scotland both Edinburgh (12.9%) and Glasgow (8.5%) have seen property price inflation increase much more quickly since the turn of the year, compared to their surrounding areas (6.1% and 4.6% respectively).
This has been reflected in places like Fife (2.1%) and West Dunbartonshire, where prices actually dropped by 0.7%.
In Greater London, inner London boroughs are recording average property price growth of 6.8%, compared to 4.6% in the outer boroughs. Brent is one of only a handful of London boroughs to see prices fall so far this year, down 8.4%.
“The pandemic transformed the UK housing market. Homeowners wanted bigger homes and better access to green spaces, fueling huge demand for larger properties away from urban centres. This accelerated house price growth in the suburbs and more rural areas, while in cities it was much slower," Andrew Asaam, mortgages director at Halifax, said.
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“That trend didn’t disappear completely this year, as house price growth in these areas remained strong. But, as daily life started to get back to normal for many, the opportunity to live in cities became more attractive again, driving up demand. There’s evidence of this in locations across the country, with property price inflation in the majority of cities outstripping increases in their surrounding areas.
“Clearly the economic environment has changed considerably in the last few months, with the likelihood of more significant downward pressure on house prices, as the cost of living squeeze and higher borrowing costs limit demand. The extent to which such trends will continue to shape the housing market is therefore uncertain.”
