"Should recent trends persist, prices in the capital will continue to tread water whilst the rest of the country slowly plays catch up."
Greater London house prices per m2 experienced the lowest growth in Great Britain over the last 12 months, whilst the North and South East had the second lowest, growing just 2% each to £1,364 and £3,215 per m2 respectively.
Greater London grew less than 1% (£25) over the same period to £5,131 per m2 as the boom in the capital’s house prices slowed down sharply.
Only 11 of London’s 31 boroughs increased in terms of price per m2 in the last year, ranging from an average increase of 1% and 4% per m2 – Kingston upon Thames and Newham both had the largest average house price per m2 rise (4%). The 15 London boroughs that fell in price per m2 ranged between 1% and 3% over the last 12 months. Camden had the largest decrease (5%), whilst five boroughs did not change in price at all.
Despite this stall in growth per m2 over the past year, house prices in Greater London (£5,131) are on average £2,788 per m2 more than the rest of Great Britain (£2,342).
The greatest increase over the last 12 months was in East Anglia where house prices per m2 rose by 7% to £2,256.
The average house price per m2 in Burnley in the North West and Market Harborough in the East Midlands have increased by 24% and 20% respectively in the past year – significantly more than the rest of Great Britain (3%).
Linlithgow in Scotland and Neath in Wales both experienced significant increases (16%) per m2 over the last year, despite being in traditionally slower growth regions of Scotland and Wales.
The Welsh town of Aberdare is the best value for money per m2 in Great Britain at £969 per m2 for an average size of 121m2, the size of 10 and a half standard UK parking spaces, making it the least expensive for the most space.
Westminster is the poorest value for money per m2 in Great Britain at £9,379 per m2 for an average size of 67m2. The average house size in Westminster could not even fit in six standard UK parking spaces. It also costs a whopping £8,410 more per m2 than Aberdare for 54m2 less space.
Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: “It is no surprise that Greater London is substantially more expensive than anywhere else in the country. Should recent trends persist, prices in the capital will continue to tread water whilst the rest of the country slowly plays catch up.
“While cheaper locations such as Scotland and Wales have started to increase more rapidly over the last 12 months, the prices per square metre in Scotland and Wales mean home buyers can get a lot of house for their money in these regions compared to Southern England.”
