Research also reveals which regions have posted the strongest house price appreciation
Research by property developer Stripe Property Group has revealed how much a property in the UK cost 50 years ago and compared it with today’s prices.
Back in 1972, the average UK property was valued at just £5,158. Adjusted for inflation, this still amounts to a very affordable £49,333 by today’s standards.
Today, the average UK homebuyer is forking out £278,436 on the average property. That’s a total increase of 464%, with house prices climbing by an average of 9.3%, or £4,582, every single year over the last 50 years.
Read more: Halifax releases latest house price index – industry reacts.
The research also analysed property values across each region of the UK, and how they have changed since the early 70s once adjusted for inflation.
Perhaps predictably, London sits atop when it comes to property price performance over the last half century. Even after adjusting for inflation, London house prices have increased by a huge 13.5% per year on average, up 677% in total. That’s an average increase of over £9,000 every year over the last 50 years.
However, this strong property price growth isn’t confined to the London market alone.
Both the East Midlands and South West have enjoyed annual rates of growth averaging 10.7% per year since 1972, that’s a respective annual increase of £4,051 and £5,288.
The average annual rate of growth also exceeds the 10% threshold across four other UK regions, with house prices increasing by 10.6% per year across the East of England, the South East, the North West and the North East.
At £6,482, the South East has also seen the largest average annual monetary increase outside of London.
Even the worst performing region in terms of price growth has still seen a healthy uplift in house prices over the last 50 years. In Northern Ireland, house prices have increased by a total of 285.8%. While this is the lowest increase of all regions, it still equates to a 5.7% jump every year, equivalent to almost £2,500.
“Whether you’re purchasing for yourself or as an investment, there’s no safer bet than the UK property market when it comes to a consistently strong return,” James Forrester, managing director of Stripe Property Group, commented.
“To think, having purchased 50 years ago, you would have seen the equivalent of £4,500 accumulated per year is pretty remarkable, and this increase speaks volumes about the resilience of the market,” he said.
“Of course, there have been corrections along the way, but the cyclical nature of the market itself means that those buying with a long-term view are always likely to see an increase in the value of their bricks and mortar asset.”
