MARKET ANALYSIS: Latest house prices compared in England, Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland
Kate Faulkner takes a look at the housing markets across the UK to see which of the nations are holding up and which aren't.
Pretty much all of the countries, though, are seeing property prices keeping up with inflation over the long term (since 2005), showing that if you hold onto property long enough, it can either hold its value or deliver slightly more than inflation over time on average.
For Scotland, Wales and Northern Island, we monitor Halifax and E.surv.
Local expertise for each country is essential when looking at how the property market is performing. This is especially the case in the likes of Scotland and Wales where areas are as diverse as the English Regions.
E.surv offers the most detailed market information on Scotland this month.
Summary from the indices of the Scottish housing market
“House prices in Scotland also increased, with a typical property now costing £204,663, +1.6% more than the year before.”
“House prices in most of Scotland have risen sharply in recent months, rising by more than £2,000 in March and again in April. The average house price in Scotland is currently just under £225,000, which is both a record high and a significant increase from the peak it reached in September 2023. This stands in contrast to Wales’s and England’s markets.
“Nineteen local authorities reported growing prices during the month, easily outnumbering those reporting decreases (twelve). No less than eight local authorities saw prices hit new market highs, despite the net positive balance being slightly lower than in March.
“All housing markets are driven by sentiment and Scotland appears to have turned the corner in terms of both prices and transactions, according to our data. This upswing in confidence is a result of growing salaries, falling inflation, and the anticipation that interest rates will start to come down later this year.”
Summary from the indices of the Welsh housing market
“In Wales, house prices grew annually by +2.7% to reach £220,197.”
Summary from the indices of the Northern Ireland housing market
“Northern Ireland remained the best performing area, with prices up 4.1% compared with Q2 2023.”
Northern Ireland recorded the strongest property price growth of any nation or region in the UK.”
“Northern Ireland recorded the strongest property price growth of any nation or region in the UK, rising by +4.0% on an annual basis in June, up from +3.3% the previous month. The average price of a property in the country is now £192,457.”
Regional property prices tracking
Although the national and country averages show property prices are trending upwards, on a regional basis in England, prices are still not improving everywhere. The East and the South are the areas struggling to see much of a recovery according to most of the indices.
Home.co.uk reports the North East as the best performer in the last month, up 3.7%, while the Land Registry (which does lag behind the others data wise) shows London is the worst performer, with prices down by 3.9%.
Overall though, price rises/falls regionally are a few percent up or down – so overall, a nice stable market for most buyers and sellers.
And hopefully with up and coming forecasts of two rate falls this year, this will help boost prices and activity back to seeing small rises each year, which is an ideal market for everyone in the property market.
Commentary on the regional property price performance
“The North West remains the regional property market growth leader with a year-on-year gain of 3.8%, while the East of England is now the worst performing region with a loss of -1.5% over the same period.”
“House prices continue to register annual price falls across southern England at a slowing rate. Prices continue to increase across the rest of the UK by up to 3.3% in Northern Ireland.”
“Our regional house price indices are produced quarterly, with data for Q2 (the three months to June) showing a mixed picture, with some regions seeing a modest pick up in growth, but others still recording annual price declines.
“Northern Ireland remained the best performing area, with prices up 4.1% compared with Q2 2023. Across England overall, prices were up 0.6% compared with Q2 2023, while Wales and Scotland both saw a 1.4% year-on-year rise. Northern England (comprising North, North West, Yorkshire & The Humber, East Midlands and West Midlands), continued to outperform southern England, with prices up 2.4% year-on-year.
“Meanwhile, southern England (South West, Outer South East, Outer Metropolitan, London and East Anglia) saw a 0.3% year-on-year fall (the same as last quarter). London remained the best performing southern region with annual price growth maintained at 1.6%. East Anglia was the weakest performing region, with prices down 1.8% year-on-year.”
“In England, the steepest rate of house price inflation is found in the North West, up by +3.8% over the last year, now standing at £231,351.
“Eastern England was the only region or nation across the UK to register a decline in house prices over the last year, where they now average £328,747, down -0.9% in June on an annual basis.
“London continues to have the most expensive property prices in the UK, now averaging £536,306, up (+0.9%) compared to last year.”
