Asking prices in northern counties lower than pre-crisis levels as north-south divide remains

• New data from Rightmove reveals a stark North-South divide in strength of the housing market recovery
• While national asking prices, buoyed by London and the South, are now 8.2% higher than the May 2008 peak, Wales and most counties north of the Midlands have shown a decline
• On average, counties in the north of England have reported a decline of 6.0%, whilst all areas of London are up by at least 30%
• In Central London & the City the average price of a property has increased by almost £500,000, up 41.9% to £1,512,555
• Rightmove has created a House Price Trendometer for people to see how asking prices in their county have fared since the House Price Index began in 2001

New data from the UK’s number one property website Rightmove today reveals that asking prices in Wales and the majority of counties in the north of England are lower than the pre-crisis peak in May 2008.

National new seller asking prices peaked at £242,500 back in May 2008 before falling to a low of £213,570 in January 2009.  In August 2014 national asking prices were up by 8.2% compared with the May 2008 peak, to £262,401.

Yet north of the Midlands all counties except Cheshire and North Yorkshire have reported a decline, with the biggest decrease occurring in County Durham, down 13.4% to £114,554.

The data shows that nearly all of the national house price growth has come from London and the South, with all areas of the capital up at least 30% when compared to May 2008.

Central London has seen dramatic growth, up 41.9% to £1,512,555, followed by West London up 41.7% to £564,192. Outside of London the highest riser is Cambridgeshire, up 21.9% to £311,933. Other areas of strong growth outside of the capital include Surrey (+16.1%) and Berkshire (+16.4%).

A full list of county level data from 2001 to 2014 can be viewed at: rightmovenews.wpengine.com/news/house-price-trendometer

Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst comments:

“Housing and house prices in particular are an obsession with the British public, and the period covered by the Rightmove Trendometer has certainly been one to really grab the attention. We feel this new tool will create plenty of interest among those wanting to analyse if they made the ‘right move’ or whether another county would have offered better potential returns on their property investment.

 

“While at a high level the south has out-performed the north, being able to dig underneath that courtesy of the millions of properties advertised on Rightmove since 2001 shows really varied county versus county performance. The summary of key events that pummelled the housing market is a scary reminder of the journey we have been through, and shows that the property price picture is still full of geographic ups and downs.”