2020 saw some lucky homeowners see the value of their property rise by an average of 10% across the UK, according to the latest data from Halifax.
The news is potentially most welcome for would-be house sellers living in parts of London as well as Yorkshire, the West Midlands and northern Scotland – the areas with the biggest percentage increases over the past 12 months.
In Islington, the average property price jumped 13.4% (£85,918) in 2020, more than double the average percentage growth in the Greater London area (6%) with an average sale price of £727,922. This was followed by Croydon which has enjoyed a 10.9% increase (£39,117).
Outside the capital, the great northern city of Leeds has seen the second greatest increase of 11.3% (£25,024) in average house price in 2020, edging past the regional average of 9% across Yorkshire and Humberside. This is followed by Wolverhampton where homes now cost 9.5% more (£18,975) at an average of £217,837. This has crept up from 9% the previous year.
Russell Galley, Halifax’s managing director, said: “Much like many other things about 2020, it would have been hard to predict which areas would see the greatest movement in average house prices this year. For example, depending on the borough, you could be looking at the biggest price rise or the biggest falls in the capital.
“House prices have leapt by more than 11% in Yorkshire’s great cosmopolitan city of Leeds and almost 10% in Wolverhampton at the heart of the Black Country.
“Further North, Doncaster and Inverness have also seen healthy growth and whilst the overall house price trend this year has been upward, anyone looking to buy in Paisley, Hackney, or Aberdeen will find homes cost a little bit less than last year.”
There is potential good news for buyers and sellers in London and Scotland, with both appearing more than once on the lists of areas with the greatest and smallest house price growth.
Greater London takes nine of the top 20 places for house price rises in 2020. Croydon, in the south of the capital, has seen house prices rise by over 10% (10.9%), equivalent to £39,177 – having only risen 1% the previous year.
Hounslow in West London sits in fifth position, with a rise of 9.1% (£43,697) which is slightly down from last year’s increase of 13%. A house in each borough now costs an average of £397,538 and £523,659 respectively, versus the Greater London average of £558,272. But both Croydon and Hounslow have seen growth well above the average of 6% for the region.
This year, prices more broadly the capital are a tale of two halves in 2020. The cost of buying a home in the popular Hackney area has become £9,843 (1.5%) cheaper, compared to the previous year, making it the second greatest fall in the UK, after Paisley in Scotland.
Just a few miles west of Glasgow, Paisley has seen house prices cool by 1.7% (£2,448). Merton and Greenwich – in Greater London – sit in fifth and sixth place on the list, with dips of 0.6% (£3,385) and 0.2% (£899) respectively.
Inverness in the Scottish Highlands – where homes now cost £195,534 – is Scotland’s biggest house price winner this year, with an average increase this year rocketing to 8.1% (£14,687) from no increase at all between 2018 and 2019.
Meanwhile in Scotland’s capital – well known as one of the priciest places to buy in Scotland has seen house prices grow by 6% over the year, corresponding to an extra £15,581, with the average property in Edinburgh now £274,246.
On the other hand, not too far away from these winners, Aberdeen in the north and Falkirk in central Scotland have seen house price falls this year, of 1.4% (£2,761) and 0.8% (£1,484), coming in at third and fourth in the UK overall. Buyers can expect to pay around £200,810 for a home in Aberdeen or £175,789 in Falkirk.
In London, even some of the closest neighbours have some of the biggest contrasts. Islington, Croydon, Hounslow, Romford, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Kingston-upon-Thames, Lambeth, Sutton, and Hillingdon have all experienced some of the biggest house prices increases in the year. Over the same period, Hackney, Merton, Greenwich, Tower Hamlets, Haringey, and Wandsworth, have all seen either a drop or the smallest growth in the year when looking across the UK.
