While London house prices rocketed by 13.9% and the East (10.7%) and South East (10.3%) weren’t far behind they fell by 0.7% in the North East and only rose by 1.6% in Yorkshire and The Humber.
While UK house prices rose by 6.7% in the year to March today’s Land Registry data revealed the significant regional divide in the UK.
While London house prices rocketed by 13.9% and the East (10.7%) and South East (10.3%) weren’t far behind they prices fell by 0.7% in the North East and only rose by 1.6% in Yorkshire and The Humber.
Charles Haresnape, Aldermore’s group managing director, mortgages, said: “While annual house price growth has remained at a healthy 6.7%, headline figures can often hide regional disparities, with houses in the North East showing an annual price fall.
“While monthly data can be volatile, there is a rising level of uncertainty currently present in the market that may be contributing to the slight fall in recorded sales volumes compared to the same period a year earlier, and follows a similar pattern that was seen ahead of both the Scottish referendum and the general election.
“While the EU referendum will undoubtedly have an effect on the market as a whole, the recent rises in housing stock coming onto the market have continued to be outstripped by rising levels of demand, and we are likely to see a steady upward trend in house prices during the rest of 2016.”
With London's average house price standing over £500,000 My Home Move chief executive Doug Crawford indicated that owning in the capital has become out of reach for those without gifted deposits.
He said: “Our data has found that the average deposit in London is 170% more than elsewhere in the UK, pricing out more and more hopeful homebuyers and highlighting the seriousness of this ongoing affordability problem, particularly for first-time buyers.
“Gifted deposits are now becoming the only hope for many and we have seen a notable increase in those relying on this cash gift to cover their deposit.
“The questions still remains – how long will it take for the UK housing market to have a sustainable supply of houses that meet the affordability needs of both first-time buyers and second-steppers?”
