The average property in England and Wales has reached £300,000 for the first time despite the slowing in house price growth.
The rate of house price growth might have fallen since the Brexit decision was made, but that has not stopped the price of an average property in England and Wales reaching £300,000 for the first time.
According to the latest property price index, house prices grew by 3.1 percent across England and Wales last year. That is less than half of the 7.3 percent annual price growth in 2015, but was still enough to push the average cost of a home to £300,169.
Rates of house price growth
In London, prices rose by just 1.3 percent over the course of the year, pushing prices to an average of £598,001. The fact that there was any rise in prices in London at all is down to the growth in more affordable areas of the capital, as opposed to central London, where prices actually fell.
In Barking and Dagenham, prices jumped by a significant 13.6 percent over the course of the year. This pushed the price of the average property in the borough to £301,572. However, despite the rise, houses are still more affordable than they are in the rest of the city.
Waltham Forest and Redbridge were the two other London boroughs to see the highest rate of house price growth. Prices rose by 11.3 percent in Waltham Forest, to £456,987; and by 10.8 percent in Redbridge, to £449,683.
However, the picture in the capital was mixed, with the central neighbourhoods experiencing house price falls across the board. Central London’s property market has been rocked by the stamp duty hikes on homes worth more than £1million. While Brexit has been the catalyst for price reductions in some cases, it is the stamp duty charges that have really dampened demand for the most expensive homes.
In Chelsea, house prices fell by as much 13 percent year-on-year as vendors were forced to drop prices due to higher transaction taxes. Other areas with high-end homes and sky-high prices to suffer included Kensington and Notting Hill, where prices fell by 12 percent and 10 percent respectively. Overall, prime central London house prices fell by 6.7 percent year-on-year, with houses priced between £5million and £10million experiencing the biggest drop.
A confident start to the year
All in all, the housing market has made an excellent start to the year. Although house prices have not been rising in central London, other areas are flourishing. That includes the East of England, where prices have risen by 7.1 percent year-on-year, and the London commuter belt, where prices in counties like Surrey, Hampshire and Oxfordshire are all showing good growth.
Most importantly, despite the many doom-mongers and doubters, the performance in January shows the housing market’s resilience looks set to continue, and this confident start to the year is a harbinger of things to come for the rest of 2017.
A helping hand to get on the property ladder
If you’re ready to climb the first rung of the property ladder, an average house price of £300,000 can seem daunting. However,there are plenty of affordable options out there to fit your budget and meet your needs. Keep reading our blog for Deals of the Week, or pop into our office at 137 High Street for a chat.
