House price growth across the UK’s 20 major cities has remained largely resilient this year, with the strongest performances in the Midlands and north.
As predicted earlier in the year, Hometrack’s UK Cities House Price Index has revealed that the north of England and the Midlands have seen the highest rise, while London has been held back due to factors such as Brexit uncertainty affecting the capital’s global financial status, as well as a slowing prime property market.
Topping the list for the UK were Glasgow and Edinburgh, which saw average annual property price growth to November of 7.9% and 7.6% respectively. The average home in Glasgow now costs £122,800, while in Edinburgh it is £220,200 – both below the UK average estimate of £223,807.
In England, Leicester and Birmingham in the Midlands were the best performers in terms of house price growth between November 2016 and November 2017. The average house in Leicester saw an annual price rise of 7.5% to £167,400, while Birmingham properties had a 7.3% increase to £156,500.
Will the divide grow or narrow?
These were followed by promising price growth from the north of the country, led by Manchester at 6.6%, Nottingham at 6.4% and Liverpool at 6.2%.
London was fourth from the bottom of the list, with average year-on-year price growth at 2.7%, making the average home there now cost £491,600 – more than double the national figure.
Predictions are varied for 2018, but JLL and Savills both expect modest growth next year across the UK. However, Savills predicts a 2% drop in house prices in London, while JLL thinks it will remain flat.
Richard Donnell, research and insight director at Hometrack, said: “As we move into 2018, increases in regional city house prices is likely to offset very low nominal growth in London.
“There is 20-25% of additional upside in house prices in regional cities with a simple adjustment on affordability metrics.”
