"The housing market has faced a myriad of challenges so far this year, however, when analysing performance at a local level, there remains a number of locations where property values have continued to surge upwards"
- Chris Hodgkinson - House Buyer Bureau
The latest analysis from property purchasing specialist, House Buyer Bureau, tracked how house prices have shifted since the start of the year to August 2023 - a period when the market struggled to cope with rapidly rising interest rates. Indeed, over that time the Bank of England base rate was raised from 3.5% in January to 5.25% in August.
In Scotland, prices increased by 5.4% across the seven months to £194,000, which amounts to a gain of nearly £10,000 in the short timespan.
Across the UK as a whole rose by 1.5% over the seven-month period, but that masks regional differences, as prices dropped in the East, London and the South East of England.
The North follows Scotland
Yorkshire and the Humber is the second fastest growing region, with a surge of 4.0% to £213,000; followed by the North East, with an increase of 3.5% to £165,000.
Rounding up the Northern regions, the North West saw a more modest increase of 1.5%, bringing prices to £216,000.
Oxford and Rutland subject to biggest price gains
Looking at the market in more detail, Oxford in the South East is the biggest mover in terms of rising house prices across the UK.
In the university city prices have grown by a significant 11.1% in seven months, amounting to an eye-watering cash amount of nearly £51,000.
After that comes Rutland, with an increase of 10.2%; followed by East Lothian in Scotland, at 8.9%.
Falling prices in the South & East
The East of England saw the biggest drop off in terms of house prices, where they fell by -0.7% between January and August to stand at £351,000.
Meanwhile, both London and the South East saw prices fall by -0.2%, bringing the average to £536,000 and £393,000 respectively.
Prime London leads the way in price falls
The steepest house price falls took place in Prime London, suggesting this prestigious pocket of the capital might be losing its allure at present.
Prices dropped by -14.1% in the City of Westminster, amounting to a reduction of £156,000; while in the City of London, they fell by -9.0%, or over £87,000.
Outside London the biggest drop-off was in Hastings, East Sussex, at -10.6%; and Blaenau Gwent in Wales, at -8.4%.
Managing Director of House Buyer Bureau, Chris Hodgkinson, commented: “The housing market has faced a myriad of challenges so far this year, however, when analysing performance at a local level, there remains a number of locations where property values have continued to surge upwards.
"This suggests the market is in stronger shape than many realise given that topline values have struggled to show any significant improvement throughout 2023.
“Of course, as is often the case the UK housing remains a mix of winners and losers, as Prime London in particular seems to be underperforming, where fewer buyers are ready to pay the high house prices expected in the sought-after areas of the capital.”
