Depending on where you live in the UK, your experience of the current housing market will be very different. To the south and east, growth is noticeably slowing whilst the outer regions are powering ahead. These two opposing trends have balanced out to a gradual slowing nationwide, with a positive percentage of house price growth overall. All of this variation is clearly evident in the most recent ONS UK House Price Index figures from April 2019. As UK property finders, we’re perfectly placed to explain what they mean.
UK Property Finders Explain Latest House Price Figures
The Picture Across England
Across the UK, the average house price increased by 1.4% in the year to April 2019. Whilst that might initially seem positive, such growth is actually slower than the 1.6% growth in house prices to March 2019. This decrease fits within a longer term trend of UK house price slowdown that is now well into its third year, and can in large part be attributed to plateauing house prices in the south and east.
But what do all these percentages boil down to for actual house price figures? In April 2019, the average UK house price was £229,000. That’s £3,000 higher than the average in April 2018.
London has clearly been hardest hit, suffering the lowest annual house price growth of any region. There, prices fell by 1.2% over the year to April 2019. As concerning as this sounds, it was a notable improvement on the 2.5% fall recorded in the year to March 2019 and London remains the most expensive place to buy in the UK. The average house price in the capital is now £472,000.
Falling in behind London as the most expensive regions in the UK are the South East and East. Average house prices there are £319,000 and £289,000 respectively. At the other end of the spectrum is the North East which consistently has the lowest average house price in England. April was no different, with a figure of £131,000.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
In comparison to London, the state of the property market in Wales is starkly different. In the year to April 2019, Welsh house prices grew by an impressive 6.7%, resulting in an average house price of £164,000. This figure is made all the more remarkable by the fact that house price growth in the year to March 2019 was nearly 3 percentage points at 3.9%. That jump can be attributed to two factors:
- A 0.3% fall in house prices between March and April 2019 (the result of the replacement of UK Stamp Duty Land Tax with the Land Transaction Tax)
- A strong 2.4% growth rate between March and April 2019
Growth also remained positive in Scotland, although more muted than Wales and at slower rate than in previous months. In the year to April 2019, house prices increased by 1.6%, a fall from 3.5% in the year to March 2019. Those percentages translate to an average house price in Scotland of £151,000.
Whilst house prices also increased over the year, by 3.5%, the country is still the cheapest place to buy property in the UK. There, the average house price now sits at £135,000.
If you would like an experienced UK property finder to explain the latest house price figures in the region you’re looking to move to, get in touch today by going to our contact page or call 0330 223 6339. We keep a careful eye on the status of our local property markets, ensuring that we can deliver the best deal for our clients.
