In the Autumn of 2015 East Anglia as a region hit the headlines for the highest 12-month price rises outside London. 12-month price increase figures to November 2015 just released by the ONS show East Anglia’s regional average price rose by more than any other area, at 10.2%, fuelled mainly by a lack of supply.
The figures push the average house price in East Anglia to £314,000 – still some 41% behind London but only 14% higher than the South East, which includes a much larger built-up commuter belt. However the area still looks good value, being less than 4% over the average UK price.
Is this pattern going to be sustained over the next 5 years? Analysts JLL certainly think so. They forecast the South East and East will outstrip all other areas with a rise in the average price of more than 25% by 2020:
North Hertfordshire, northern Essex and mid and east Suffolk continue to offer an appealing balance of value, quality of life, good schooling and ease of commuting to London, though the cumulative travel time of road plus rail journey can make the commute lengthy in many areas. Cambridge stands out as the region’s golden egg with prices having quadrupled between 1995 and 2014, higher even than London, making it now look a questionable option for investor buyers as rents haven’t kept pace, with many landlords experiencing less than 1% returns.
