House prices have grown in Wales as well as in England’s north and Midlands to post positive signs in early 2019, a new index has shown.
Home.co.uk’s Asking Price Index may show that the national average price growth is negative at –0.2%, but as with so many surveys in recent months, analysis shows there are several speeds to property markets around the country.
The West Midlands leads the way, with a 5% annual rise pegging the average for the area at a fraction over £250,000. Supply in the region is 10% up, leading Home to tip a slowdown, but with several high-profile projects in the region looking, demand is set to remain.
Big Birmingham projects on the horizon
Construction projects for Birmingham and nearby include works for the Commonwealth Games of 2022, as well as the HS2 rail link. The high-speed connection to London is expected to open in 2026 and will see the first major mainline station built in the UK in decades with the construction of Curzon Street in the city centre.
All the projects will see workers hunting for places to live, but recent years have also seen HSBC and Deutsche Bank move significant chunks of work to Birmingham.
Home director Doug Sheperd said, “British property roller coaster continues its hair-raising ride. There is certainly never a dull moment when one considers the diverse fortunes of the regions.”
Average prices on rise across north of England
Average asking prices in the north-west are 4.3% up to the new mark of £203,325, although Home say that it’s now taking six days longer to sell than a year ago. Across the Pennines, prices in Yorkshire and The Humber have risen by 3.4% to just shy of £196,000.
And Wales has returned strong figures as well. Average prices are at £205,768, an uptick of 6.4% year-on-year. One region of the Principality already seeing prices move up considerably is the south-east of the country, due in part to the now toll-free Severn River crossings.
The Principality Building Society recently reported that Newport’s house prices have gone up to just under £200,000. However, that’s still an attractive £100k less than on the English side of the border in cool, desirable Bristol. Wales has also performed well according to Rightmove with a rise of 4.3% and with Your Move, up by 3.6%. Both return an average price of a shade over £188k.
