In April 2023, Zoopla reported that house prices have fallen 1% since October 2022, with the UK’s average house price now positioned at £259,700, and annual price growth dropping to 4.1%. If you’ve got your heart set on moving to the capital, there’s four London boroughs where house prices are falling year on year, or if the Scottish East Coast is calling out to you, there’s also 3 areas here where you may be able to bag a bargain.
Furthermore, all other areas in the UK continue to see low annual house price growth, with areas in Wales and towns on the outskirts of Manchester faring the best.
So, using the data from Zoopla, which areas in the UK have falling house prices and where are house prices rising?
Areas in the UK where house prices are falling
It may come as a surprise, but four areas in the UK’s capital have reported a fall in average house prices since this time last year, meaning if you’re planning on moving to London then now could be a great time for house hunting.
The affluent area of Westminster in central London offers an outstanding spot in the heart of the Big Smoke, and has been a popular location for quite some time. Homes in Westminster are selling for £12,170 less than a year ago on average (-1.2%), whilst the additional high end areas of Kensington and Chelsea have also lost an average of £6,220 (-0.5%).
Other locations in London where house prices have decreased slightly include Hammersmith and Fulham, and Tower Hamlets which have both seen a decrease on average of -0.1%.
London is known for its expensive house prices, and due to the recent increased mortgage rates, this is having an effect on buyer demand and causing price growth to fall into reverse.
Other places in the UK where house prices are falling year-on-year, include the east coast of Scotland, which includes Aberdeen (-1.1%), Moray (0.3%) and Aberdeenshire (-0.2%). One of the reasons for this is a lack of investment in the North Sea’s oil industry in recent years, which in turn has had an effect on local employment and therefore reduced property demand.
However, if nature, history and quaint fishing villages are up your street then the coast of Scotland could be an area to explore.
Areas in the UK where house prices are rising
Elsewhere in the UK, many areas are experiencing price growth, with the North West and Wales reporting the strongest increases, with homeowners gaining more than 6% in sale prices year-on-year.
Four towns near Manchester have experienced a strong growth in house prices; Oldham (+7.4%), Rochdale (+7.3%), Wigan (+7.1%) and Calderdale (+6.9%), with buyers seeking value for money and connections to diverse employment opportunities.
These figures mean that homeowners in these locations can expect to benefit from at least £10,000 added to their home’s sale price since Feb 2022.
Additional areas in South and West Wales have also enjoyed a strong increase in house prices in the last year, with the biggest increases seen in Carmarthenshire (+6.8%), Neath Port Talbot (+6.7%) and Bridgend (+6.6%).
The cheapest areas to buy in the UK
If you’re looking to bag a bargain, the cheapest areas for property in the UK are currently all located in Scotland and the North of England. House prices in rural areas of the east of Glasgow, including Inverclyde, East Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, are on average less than £110,000.
In the North East, Hartlepool, Hull, Middlesbrough and Sunderland have properties for sale priced at less than £120,000, and in the North West the cheapest properties can be found in Burnley, where the average home costs £116,000.
The most expensive areas to buy in the UK
Although, as previously mentioned, Kensington and Chelsea plus the City of Westminster reported slight price drops compared to last year, they still take the spot as two of the most expensive places to buy a home. Kensington and Chelsea is the only location in the UK where the average house price tops the £1 million mark, with properties in Westminster taking a clear second place at £962,600 despite their decrease in price growth.
However, with the stretched affordability in London due to the rising cost of living and increased mortgage costs, there’s less scope for price growth and experts have suggested that they’re expecting price falls of around 5-8% by the end of 2023 which will improve affordability.
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