Manchester property boasts fastest price growth in UK 26/3/2017

linkuk_admin   March 27, 2017   Comments Off on Manchester property boasts fastest price growth in UK 26/3/2017

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Manchester property boasts fastest price growth in UK

As average values in the north-west city soar 8.8%, price growth in London falls over 50% in just 12 months.

Summary:

  • Property prices in the UK now rise fastest in Manchester
  • Average values in the north-west city rose by 8.8% in the 12 months to February 2017
  • But price growth in London stood at just 5.6%, down from 12.8% just one year previous

It’s been home to the UK’s highest yields over the last few years, but now Manchester can also boast the fastest property price growth in the country.

Average property values in the north-west city grew by 8.8% in the 12 months to February 2017, according to the latest data from Hometrack’s City House Price Index.

National price growth stood at 6.4%, with the average being brought down by London. The UK capital recorded price growth of 12.8% a year ago, but fell 56% over the last 12 months to just 5.6%.

London’s price growth is now bettered by nine regional cities. In addition to Manchester, these also include Bristol (8%), Glasgow (7.7%) and Birmingham (7.4%).

The report explains that the lack of affordability in cities in the south of England is weighing heavily on price growth, with transaction volumes also falling steadily in these cities over the last one to three years.

But it’s a different story in the regions. Sales volumes in Liverpool and Manchester have risen by more than 40% over the last three years, with greater affordability resulting in stronger buyer and investor demand.

Hometrack believes sales volumes will continue to decrease in cities such as London over the course of 2017. And while it’s also expecting slightly slower transaction volumes in the regions this year, the report does state that cities such as Manchester will continue to be the most popular among the investor community.

The report said: “We expect sales volumes to fall by around 5% in the highest value cities over 2017, as the market and pricing levels start to adjust to price sensitive and affordability constrained demand. We expect slower growth in volumes in regional cities where there remains continued upside for market activity and house prices on more attractive affordability.”