The UK’s pandemic property hotspot, according to Land Registry data analysed by Andrews Property Group, is Liverpool.
Average house prices in Liverpool have increased 16.7% since March 2020, when we went into lockdown for the first time.
The estate agency analysed the latest UK HPI data to identify the UK’s pandemic house price winners and losers, looking at property price growth since March 2020, across more than 100 major towns and cities.
The top four property hotspots are all cities or towns in the North West – Liverpool (16.7%), Oldham (15.7%), Burnley (15.2%) and Blackburn (14.2%).
In total, 19 UK towns and cities have seen double digit house price gains since March 2020, with prices up 13% in Manchester.
Average property prices in London have only increased by 3.7% over the same period, although price growth varies widely across boroughs – with average prices up 14.4% in Haringey and 11.4% in Brent, but down 6.5% in the City of London and 5% in the borough of Westminster.
Only four major UK towns have seen negative house price growth since March 2020 – Stratford-upon-Avon (-2.5%), Cambridge (-1.7%), Hartlepool (-0.7%) and Gosport (-0.1%).
In Scotland, average house prices in Glasgow have increased 13.2% since March 2020, compared to just 2.7% in Edinburgh and 2.9% in Aberdeen. In Wales, average property prices are up 8.5% in Swanseas and 7.2% in Cardiff.
David Westgate, group chief executive of Andrews Property Group, said: “Considering the economic and social challenges we’ve faced since the country went into national lockdown for the first time last March, the UK property market has proved itself to be extremely resilient in the face of adversity.
“The stamp duty holiday introduced in July has smoothed the bumps and helped fuel house price growth, turbo-charging the property market in the second half of 2020. We saw a buyer frenzy, with people looking to take advantage of stamp duty savings up to £15,000. That, coupled with continued low stock in many areas, has supported prices.”