Where are the top property hotspots of the century?

According to research carried out by online estate agents HouseSimple.com. Southend-on-Sea is the unheralded winner of the UK’s top property hotspot in the 21st Century (excluding London Boroughs).

Average property prices have boomed 287.1% in the Essex coastal town since the turn of the century. Home to the longest leisure pier in the world, Southend-on-Sea property prices have risen faster than in any town or city outside the Capital, since January 2000, according to Land Registry figures.

And Southend-on-Sea is not the only town in the East of England that has seen phenomenal price rises. Four-out-of-five of the biggest price growth areas outside London since January 2000, have been in the East. Cambridge (279.2%), Luton (276.7%) and Basildon (274.7%) have all seen average property prices increase by more than 270%.

If you include London boroughs in the research, Waltham Forest in East London, is the top performing area in the UK for property price growth, with average house prices rising 364.9% since January 2000. However, HouseSimple wanted to look at how house prices had fared across the rest of the country, as London is often viewed as a stand-alone property market, not reflective of the UK as a whole.

HouseSimple.com identified 19 UK towns and cities that have seen average price growth of at least 250% since January 2000. Only two of those towns – Salford and Sale – are in the north of England, and both are in Greater Manchester.

London

The Capital is the clear winner when it comes to gains made on property, with the eight biggest house price growth areas since January 2000 all London boroughs. They have all seen average property prices rise more than 300% since the start of the Millennium.

The two strongest property markets, Waltham Forest and Hackney, are in East London and were both Olympic boroughs. Waltham Forest and Hackney have seen prices rise 364.9% and 339% respectively over the past 18 years.

Sam Mitchell, CEO of online estate agents HouseSimple.com, comments: “While London is the clear winner when it comes to house price growth since the turn of the century, prices have boomed in many areas outside the Capital as these figures attest. What’s more impressive is that in the middle of this 18-year period, we experienced one of the worst recessions this country has ever seen. It shows the resilience of the UK property market.

During this period, London property prices stabilised thanks to an inflow of foreign investment, and then started to rise again 18 months after the height of the Credit Crunch. However, that wasn’t the case across large swathes of the country, where the recovery process was far more protracted.

Today, the property price growth picture is entirely different. As London’s property market shows signs of running out of steam, we are seeing strong growth in the north of England. Eighteen years from now, the UK’s property hotspot landscape could well look entirely different.”