Homeowners have benefited from a massive rise in asking prices over the past 12 months. New research from property website Rightmove shows that home prices have grown by 6.3 per cent in England and Wales during the past 12 months – an incredible growth rate not seen since late 2007.
Thanks to the rising tide of housing prices, the average UK home is now valued at £243,861. In over 43 different regions, average home prices have surged to over £1 million.
The recent Rightmove survey shoes that London’s property market saw the highest rate of growth during 2013. Home prices in the capital grew 7 per cent year-on-year, making it one of Europe’s most expensive property markets. The average London home is now worth a staggering £514,704.
Other regions have benefited from the surge in home prices. Home prices in Wales grew 6.2 per cent in the last 12 months to £163,181, while prices in Yorkshire and the Humber rose 6.8 per cent during the last year. Only the North was affected by a declining property market, with prices falling by 0.1 per cent to £136,786.
According to estate agents Savills, there are now 43 ‘property zones’ in the UK with average prices in excess of £1 million. Knightsbridge and Belgravia is the country’s most expensive property market, with the average home selling for £4.4 million – an increase of 342 per cent in the past decade.
Property market analysts note that while homeowners have benefited from the rise in prices, many first-time buyers are finding it difficult to purchase property in the capital. The Help to Buy scheme, launched by the government to increase access to property for first-time buyers, has fuelled a shortage of properties that’s pushed asking prices up across the country.
