Latest House Price Information from the UK County House Price League
23-Feb-2005
For the first time in 2004 no county in the UK had an average house price below £100,000; sixteen counties saw their average house price push through the £100,000 mark during the year. The top twenty counties for house price growth over the past year were outside the South of England. The most inexpensive county in 2004 was County Tyrone (£102,959) in Northern Ireland, while the most expensive county was Surrey (£345,485) in the South East of England. The twelve most expensive counties in the UK are all in the South of England and each had an average house price of more than £200,000 in 2004. No county in the Northern regions of England had an average house price above £200,000, highlighting the North-South divide. Biggest Price Rises - County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland recorded the biggest house price rise in 2004 with a 39% gain to £111,187. This was the first time that County Fermanagh has topped the annual county house price table and was also the first time that a county in Northern Ireland has recorded the largest price rise in the UK since 1996. In 2003 County Fermanagh was the most inexpensive county in the UK.
- Highlands in Scotland experienced the second largest rise in prices in 2004 with a 37% gain followed by two Welsh counties: West Glamorgan (34%) and Gwynedd (33%).
- The 20 counties with the biggest price increases in 2004 were all in northern England (9), Scotland (6), Wales (3) and Northern Ireland (2). This was a repeat of 2003 when all 20 counties recording the largest price rises were outside southern England and the midlands.
- Six of the 10 counties recording the biggest price increases in 2004 had an average price of below £100,000 in 2003 and were amongst the 14 least expensive counties in 2003. County Fermanagh – the county recording the biggest price rise in 2004 - had the lowest average price in the UK in 2003 (£79,962).
Smallest Price Rises - Another county in Northern Ireland – County Down – experienced the smallest price gain in 2004 (6%). Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire (both 7%) recorded the next smallest rises.
- Fifteen of the 20 counties with the smallest price increases in 2004 were in southern England. This was also very similar to 2003 when 14 of the 20 counties recording the smallest price rises were in southern England.
- There was a clear tendency for the most expensive counties in most regions in 2003 to record the smallest house price increases in 2004.
Most Expensive - Surrey remains the most expensive county in the UK and is the only county with an average price above £300,000, at £345,895. Prices in Surrey increased by 13% in 2004.
- 13 counties have an average price in excess of £200,000. 11 of these counties are in the south east of England. The two counties outside this part of the country are Dorset (£220,328) and Herefordshire (£205,061).
Least Expensive - The three counties with the lowest average house prices in the UK are all in Northern Ireland: County Londonderry (£105,839), County Armagh (£104,819) and County Tyrone (£102,959). The least expensive county on the British mainland is Fife (£107,919) and the least expensive in England is South Humberside (£115,375).
House Price Milestones - There are now no counties with an average price below £100,000. 16 counties saw average prices rise above the £100,000 barrier during 2004. These 16 included 6 in Scotland and 5 in Northern Ireland.
- The average price broke the £200,000 threshold for the first time in the following five counties: Hampshire, Essex, East Sussex, Kent and Herefordshire.
Commenting upon the housing market in the UK, Martin Ellis, Chief Economist, said: "House prices rose most rapidly in counties outside southern Britain during 2004, repeating the pattern in 2003. This has helped to reduce further the north/south house price divide. However, the housing market across the country has slowed significantly over the past six months as affordability considerations have begun to bite. There was a clear tendency for those counties experiencing the strongest price gain in 2004 to be the ones where average prices were amongst the least expensive in the country. Similarly, the most expensive counties, in the main, saw the smallest price rises."
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