Only two areas in London saw property price rises in 2023

If you thought London house prices would never stop climbing, think again.

Just two areas in London saw an increase in property values over 2023, according to new data from Halifax.

The price of homes in the borough of Hillingdon – which Rightmove recently called the unhappiest place to live in Britain – rose by 4.5% this year, adding £22,677 to the average value of £529,229.

This is compared to the country as a whole where the figure sits at £283,615, down 1% compared to 2022.

The only other borough in the capital where prices grew was Newham in East London, which saw a 2.8% (or £12,771) increase on the average property value, taking it to a total of £476,191.

Elsewhere in the UK, the biggest winners were Huddersfield (up 8.7%), with homeowners adding a healthy £22,137 to their prices.

And the West Yorkshire town was closely followed by Bradford (up 8.5%) and Falkirk (up 6.0%) in second and third place.

Yet prices fell most sharply in Stoke-on-Trent in the west Midlands, which saw a fall of 15% – equivalent to £30,978 knocked off the cost of the average house.

Next was Perth in Scotland (down 14.1%), Stockport in Greater Manchester (down 13.3%) and Chelmsford in Essex (down 13.0%).

Analysts looked at mortgage approvals from Halifax and Bank of Scotland between October 2022 and October 2023, finding that the property market was largely static throughout the majority of the country.

Some regions bucked this trend, though, and the lender has predicted an overall reduction of a further 2% to 4% in the coming 12 months, as households coming off fixed-rate mortgage deals feel the bite of higher interest rates.

Kim Kinnaird, director at Halifax Mortgages, commented: ‘This year’s market has been hit by the squeeze on mortgage affordability, but there’s been a big difference in how house prices have performed in towns and cities across the country.

‘House prices can be swayed by many factors, from the number of homes for sale, the local jobs market, and services like education and public transport. 

‘Buying a home in Huddersfield or Bradford may well have cost considerably more in 2023 than it did last year, but that’s not the case in Stoke-on-Trent, for example, which might now be offering better value for money. 

‘However, when buying a home is such a major financial commitment, it’s important to consider the longer-term trends. Many homeowners will feel reassured to know that the average UK house price remains around £40,000 higher than before the pandemic.’

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