UK cities fared better than regional areas in housing price slump
The average house price across 59 UK cities rose by 65% or £68,236 over the past decade, moving from £104,681 in August 2001 to £172,917 in August 2011, according to research by Halifax, part of the Lloyds banking group.
It’s equivalent to a weekly increase of £131. House prices across the UK as a whole increased by 56% over the same period.
The data indicated house prices in city locations fell less than those in regional areas during the downturn.
City property prices fell, on average, by 17% between 2007 and 2009, compared with an overall fall of 24% across the UK.
Over the past year, city house prices have declined by 2.5%, lower than the 4.3% drop in the average UK house price.
Westminster was named as the most expensive UK city, with the average house price of £570,964, research from Halifax shows.
All 10 of the most expensive cities in England are in the south. Edinburgh is the most expensive UK city outside southern England, with an average house price of £206,303.
Salford in Manchester is the least expensive UK city, with an average house price of £105,833, followed by Derry at £106,299.
The Halifax Cities Review tracks house price movements in 59 of the 66 cities in the UK. A city is typically defined as a large town or any town in the UK that has a cathedral.
Affordability in cities has declined over the last 10 years. The typical city home is 5.2 times average gross annual earnings in 2011, up from an average multiple of 4.8 in 2001. There was peak of 7.4 in 2007.
“With the housing demand and supply imbalance that characterises the UK property market often more acute within our major urban conurbations, homes in cities across the country are typically trading at a marked premium over neighbouring areas,” Suren Thiru, housing economist at Halifax, says.
“City house prices are generally supported by demand from those looking to gain from the economic and lifestyle benefits often associated with residing in major urban areas, as well as by the pressures on the housing supply that often typify such locations.”
The Halifax House Price Index is the UK's longest-running monthly house price series, with data covering the whole country going back to January 1983.
