House prices in Manchester have risen by 8.8% year-on-year February 2017, with sales volumes growing by over 40% in the past three years.
Manchester house prices are growing faster than any other city in the UK, Hometrack’s UK Cities House Price Index has revealed.
House prices in Manchester have risen by 8.8% year-on-year February 2017, with sales volumes growing by over 40% in the past three years.
Even after the strong rise the average house price of £151,800 in the city is still far lower than cities in the South of England.
David Copland, director of Mortgage Services at LSL Financial Services,said:“Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester are all experiencing exceptional growth thanks to a booming job market and improved transport links.
“More people are therefore moving their attention away from the London property market, especially when looking to secure their first home.
“It will be interesting to see if the northern powerhouses continue to grow at this pace once Article 50 is triggered; but with investment continuing to flow, I expect this only to continue.”
UK average city house price growth stands at 6.4%, down from 7.8% in 2016.
Richard Donnell, insight director at Hometrack, said: “Overall we continue to expect the rate of house price growth to moderate over the rest of 2017.
“Buyers are fully aware of the government’s plans and timescales for Brexit but there remains huge uncertainty over what this means for the economy over the next two to three years and beyond.
“In cities where affordability remains attractive we expect demand to hold up in the short term albeit with slower growth in sales volumes.”
Other cities where prices are rising fast are Portsmouth (8.1%) and Bristol (8.0%), while London growth currently stands at 5.6%.
London and Bristol have seen turnover stay flat or fall in the past few years, while in Manchester, Liverpool, Leicester and Birmingham it’s been the opposite trend.
Donnell added: “Levels of housing turnover across UK cities are expected to remain broadly flat over 2017.
“There is some further upside for sales volume in regional cities but much depends upon how would be buyers respond to external factors, not least the impact of lower real wage growth, the potential for higher mortgage rates and whether demand will be impacted by the triggering of Article 50 at the end of the month.”
