North West England sees the biggest house price rebound

November 13, 2020 / Isla MacFarlane
North West England sees the biggest house price rebound

The March lockdown threw the property market into turmoil. Eviction bans, a halt in viewings and the confusion around mortgage repayment holidays meant property prices fell/stagnated.

Since those lockdown restrictions eased and the stamp duty holiday was announced, the UK average property price has risen to an all time high.

As Rentround reports, during lockdown the average UK property price fell to £230,995.

As we now enter the next, hopefully shorter term lockdown, the average UK property price has boomed to £239,196, 1.63% above the all-time high of £236,646.

For some regions, the price rebound post lockdown means prices returning to pre-lockdown figures. However for some regions, the boom has seen prices rise above previous all-time highs.

This is certainly the case for The North West & East Midlands. These two regions have seen substantial property price rebounds since lockdown restrictions easing. The extent of which is property prices in these regions have substantially surpassed previous all-time highs.

The North West, with a 5.8% rebound in property prices post lockdown, has raised the average property price from £164,009 to 170,025. The current average property price in the region is 3.5% more than the previous all-time high of £167,693.

The same positive sentiment can be said of The East Midlands. Property prices have rebounded at a rate of 3.2% to £202,345, £5,510 (2.8%) above the previous all-time high.

Following a similiar behaviour, Yorkshire post lockdown restrictions easing, saw average property prices increasing from £160,109 to £170,025 (6.19%) and £3,720 (2.24%) above the previous all-time high.

London lingers in mid-table, although still beating the average property price rebound rate post lockdown. London hit a growth of 3.19%, bringing the average property price to £489,195 from £474,094, 0.14% higher than the previous all-time high.

The South East, East and South West failed to keep up with average national property price rebound rates, with 2.24%, 2.21% and 1.74% rises respectively.

The below table shows which regions’ property prices are now surpassing previous all-time highs, as well as which regions saw the sharpest property price rises at the end of lockdown to now.

Position Region How much are current property prices above previous all-time highs? Avg property price – Oct 2020 Previous all time property price high Property price rebound rate post lockdown
Average house prices UK 1.63% £237,465 £233,646 2.80%
1 North West England 3.53% £173,617 £167,693 5.80%
2 East midlands 2.80% £202,345 £196,835 3.32%
3 Yorkshire 2.24% £170,025 £166,305 6.19%
4 South West 1.74% £264,824 £260,292 1.74%
5 West Midlands 1.48% £204,886 £201,894 4.31%
6 South East 1.25% £332,147 £328,061 2.24%
7 East England 0.84% £296,411 £293,936 2.21%
8 London 0.14% £489,195 £488,527 3.19%
9 North East England -0.19% £131,701 £131,950 7.36%

WHICH CITIES/TOWNS SAW PRICES REBOUND THE MOST, POST FULL LOCKDOWN?

Oldham saw the most significant price rebound post the 23rd June. Prices rebounded by 9.9%.

Durham was the 2nd city that contributed most to the North East property price rebound, with the city experiencing house price increases of 9.5%.

Next up is Sunderland, which saw post lockdown price increases of 8.6%, followed by Wigan, with growth reported at 8.7%.

Founder of Rentround, Raj Dosanjh said: “As regions drift in and out of different types of lockdown restrictions, the worst impact to business operations now appears to be over.

The property industry was hit badly to state the least. Speaking to agents in the midst of the lockdown, many were concerned about if their finances would be able to see out the worse of Covid-19.

“As many agents felt the pinch, our own landlord lead generation platform was hit. 35% of agents paused or cancelled their subscriptions.

“While there is still turmoil ahead, especially in November with many of the lockdown restrictions being brought back in, many agents and property owners have some breathing room.  Sales volumes are extremely high, average property prices in some regions are at the highest levels ever and letting agent phone lines are as busy as ever.

“At Rentround, we’ve now signed up 200% more letting agents to our service compared to pre-Covid-19, with landlord lead volumes increasing month on month.

“The property price rebound rates provide interesting reading, showing resiliency in the market which will go a long way to put a lot of worried minds at ease, to some extent.

The below table shows the cities/towns that saw the the sharpest increases in property prices between lockdown restrictions easing in June to the present time on October 31.”

Position City/Town Property price rebound rate post lockdown Avg property price – Oct 2020 Lowest property price (avg) during lockdown Difference between property prices now vs lowest point in lockdown
1 Oldham 9.99% £194,256 £176,609 £17,647
2 Durham 9.53% £157,039 £143,379 £13,659
3 Sunderland 8.70% £119,032 £109,508 £9,523
4 Wigan 8.65% £167,453 £154,124 £13,329
5 Halifax 8.12% £155,157 £143,503 £11,655
6 Cleveland 8.09% £135,001 £124,902 £10,099
7 Chester 7.85% £197,153 £182,802 £14,351
8 Carlisle 7.58% £157,102 £146,031 £11,070
9 Doncaster 7.18% £158,955 £148,313 £10,642
10 Huddersfield 6.51% £186,585 £175,180 £11,405
11 Swansea 5.81% £205,141 £193,868 £11,272
12 Taunton 5.80% £273,461 £258,473 £14,988
13 Lancaster 5.67% £200,465 £189,705 £10,761
14 Liverpool 5.67% £164,501 £155,672 £8,829
15 Blackburn 5.32% £152,833 £145,111 £7,722
16 Wakefield 5.31% £192,940 £183,208 £9,733
17 Leeds 5.18% £233,988 £222,468 £11,520
18 Watford 5.04% £493,499 £469,802 £23,696
19 Walsall 4.86% £221,653 £211,386 £10,267
20 Birmingham 4.80% £253,632 £242,024 £11,607
21 Hull 4.79% £156,602 £149,440 £7,162
22 Bolton 4.68% £176,991 £169,081 £7,910
23 Plymouth 4.51% £206,424 £197,513 £8,911
24 Leicester 4.39% £279,753 £267,990 £11,763
25 Manchester 4.38% £220,212 £210,962 £9,250

 

 

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