Estate agents in the North have outgunned their counterparts in London for the first time, according to new Savills research.

The value of homes sold in the North of England has topped the amount in the Capital during the past 12 months.

Savills totted up the total sales achieved in the regions of the North and found the £68.8billion beat £67.9billion in London for the first time since the agency started making the comparison 20 years ago, The Times reports.

Far ahead

The finding will surprise many in the property industry as the capital is considered to be far ahead of other parts of the country.

A switch in fortunes appears to have developed since the Covid pandemic, with house prices and transaction numbers increasing at a faster rate outside London.

London accounted for 17.2% of all house sales in Britain in the year to the end of March, which was the lowest proportion since at least 2006, Savills says.

Badly hit

Lucian Cook, Head of Residential Research of Savills, told The Times price inflation in London over the last 10 years has left the market more exposed to interest rate rises, and made it harder for first-time buyers to make a purchase.

He also said that “those buy-to-let investors who remain in the market have shifted their focus to the North where the income returns are higher”.

And “the absence of meaningful price growth in London in recent years, particularly for flats, has also made it difficult for would-be second steppers to trade up in the Capital,” he says.

A slump in London’s prime market has also been badly hit by Stamp Duty increases and measures to abolish non-dom status, Cook adds. Many wealthy households have chosen to rent rather than buy.