Halifax - 2nd Quarter UK House Price Index
- The last year has been the 'Year of the North'. Over the past 12 months, the North (36.4%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (33.0%) have seen the biggest house price rises followed by Wales (29.6%) - where the average price is approaching the £100,000 barrier - and the West Midlands (28.6%).
- All other regions have experienced double digit increases, but London has slipped to the bottom of the table with the smallest rise in prices of the 12 regions over the past year (11.5%).
- In keeping with the significant rate of house price growth in the north, all of the UK's top 10 property hotspots over the last year are in the North or Midlands. Macclesfield recorded the biggest rise in prices (51%), followed by Grimsby (49%), Spalding (48%), Halifax (46%) and Pudsey and Barnsley (45%).
- Ilford and Macclesfield have now gone through the £200,000 barrier for the first time, whilst Guildford has now gone through the £300,000 barrier for the first time.
- The recent significant rise in prices outside southern England has seen a narrowing in the gap between prices in the north and the south. As a result, the gap between the average UK price in the second quarter (£129,443) and London (£218,404) narrowed to £89,000 from a record £95,000 in the first quarter of 2003. Despite this reduction, there continues to be a huge gap in property prices between the north and the south.
- Despite the significant rate of house price growth in the north, the average property price in London is 69% above the UK average. Ten years' ago, prices in the capital were only 23% above the national average. In monetary terms, the gap has increased more than six-fold from £14,200 in 1993 Quarter 2 to £89,000 in 2003 Quarter 2.
- At the other end of the spectrum, the average price in Scotland is 60% of the UK average compared to 92% of the national average in 1993 Quarter 2. In monetary terms, the gap between prices in Scotland and the UK as a whole has widened from £5,300 to £51,600 over the past ten years.
Commenting upon the housing market in the UK Martin Ellis, Chief Economist, said:
"There has been a considerable widening in the north/south property divide over the last ten years. This gap has narrowed a little recently as house price growth in the north has outstripped that in the south. Continuing housing market buoyancy in the north over the second half of the year combined with a pause for breath in the south should close the gap further. Property prices in the south will, however, remain significantly higher than those in the north."