11 March 2011
More of Britain’s largest cities have become affordable to home buyers, Halifax has revealed in research of house price changes between 2007 and 2010.
The general fall in house prices between 2007 and 2010 has improved affordability across Great Britain and increased the choice of property available to prospective home buyers. Based on Halifax's own data, £150,000 could now purchase a semi detached property in five out of the ten largest British cities, compared to just one at the end of 2007. For those further up the property ladder, a budget of £250,000 could now buy all property types in half of the 10 biggest cities in Great Britain, compared to two in 2007. London is the only major British city where the average price of all property types remains above £250,000.
Other findings from Halifax’s research reveals that over the last three years, property prices in towns located in southern England have generally outperformed the rest of the country.
Seven of the ten post towns with the highest house price growth since 2007 are in the south of England. The Wiltshire town of Westbury recorded the biggest increase in house prices, with the average house price increasing by 8.9% between 2007 and 2010. Shetland in Scotland (5.1%) and Barnstaple in Devon (4.2%) were the next best performers. In the North, Altrincham (3.3%) and Northallerton (3.0%) were among the ten best performers.
In contrast, the eight towns that saw the biggest house price falls since 2007 are all in the North. The South Tyneside town of Jarrow saw the biggest fall, where the average house price fell by 31.4% over the period. Outside the North, Maidenhead in the South East recorded the largest house price decline (-27.1%).
Original source of article
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