UK cities saw an average property price rise of 2.1% in the year to May 2019, but the values vary depending on location, according to figures in the latest Hometrack Cities Index.
Liverpool is the biggest beneficiary, with a 5% rise reported closely followed by Belfast with 4.6% and Nottingham tied with Leicester at 4.5%. Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Birmingham all recorded a 4% increase, suggesting that majority of the biggest increases lie North of the Midlands.
Indeed, even London is seeing prices rises with the current average price of £628,283 for a central London property now a record high for the area. Property transactions in the capital have also been on an upward trajectory with quarterly transactions increasing by 13.8% from the start of the year.
Beyond prices, the Index also delved into the development of affordability for first time buyers, which is especially prescient given that this demographic accounted for 36% of sales in the period in the year to May 2019. Research has discovered that household income to purchase a home in a typical city has increased by 9% to an average of £54,400.
Again, this will vary from city to city, with the household income to purchase an average city home in Liverpool and Glasgow sitting at £26,000, and a home in London sitting at over three times that amount with £84,000.
“There is a clear link between the income to buy and recent developments in house price inflation,” offered Zoopla’s research and insight director Richard Donnell. “In simple terms, the higher prices rise, the greater the income to buy and this reduces the number of potential buyers. The net result is weaker demand, fewer sales, lower price growth and, in some areas, price falls.
“It is no surprise that housing sales have declined across southern England and price growth has weakened. Price falls are concentrated in the highest value markets across South Eastern England,’ he added.
