Mortgage News
Narrowing of North-South price gap slows
Property prices in the North of the UK have increased by an average of 102% in the past decade, compared to 75% in the South, according to Halifax.
As a result, the average house price in the South (£206,091) is now 56% higher than in the North (£132,136) compared to 80% ten years ago.
However, Halifax said that the rate at which the gap between prices in the North and South is closing has slowed in recent years.
Across the UK as a whole, property prices rose by 91% over the last decade to £164,310.
Suren Thiru, housing economist at Halifax, said: “The past ten years have been characterized by a narrowing in the UK North-South house price divide.
“However, recently, there has been a slight reversal of this trend, with housing market in the South of England outperforming the rest of the country over the past few years.”
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The biggest house price increases of the last ten years were in the North of England (130%) followed by Yorkshire and the Humber (125%) and Wales (108%). Greater London (63%) and the South East (75%) recorded the smallest price gains.
Scotland saw the ninth largest increase with property prices rising by more than 80%. According to Halifax, the average property sold for £111,780 in 2010, an increase of 83% since 2000.
However, Thiru added that the housing market in Scotland was still ‘subdued’ compared to the rest of the UK.
“Scottish property prices have risen steadily since 2000 if a little more subdued than some of the price gains recorded in most other UK regions,” he added.
Penicuik in Midlothian recorded the biggest increase in house prices among Scottish towns since 2000. The average house price in Penicuik increased by 179% from £61,824 2000 to £172.476 at the end of 2010. Irvine (172%) and Peterhead (171%) were the next best performers.