The average property value in Britain now stands at £244,289, up 4.4% over the year and a gain of £28.30 per day during 2013.
The effect of Help to Buy and low interest rates can also been seen in the figures which show increased demand driving up property values on the lower rungs of the property ladder. In England, semi-detached houses have seen the biggest increase in value, up 6.42% (£13,054) during 2013.
The gain in property values has been broadening out across the country as the recovery finally starts to be felt across the regions. Whilst London continues to surge ahead of the rest of the country with average property values rising £46,398 (10%) since this time last year, Scotland is now hot on the capital’s heels, enjoying a 6.85% increase during 2013. Overall, property prices have risen in ten of the eleven regions across Britain over 2013. Only Yorkshire and The Humber experienced a marginal fall (0.37%) in average house prices over the past 12 months.
And reinforcing the broadening effects of the recovery, northern cities now appear on the top ten list of best performing urban areas in 2013. The largest increase in house prices over the past year has been seen in Newcastle (10.05%). Other cities in the north making the top ten include Barnsley, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen and York, all recording property price gains of over 6.5% during 2013. It is not all good news in the North, with the worst performing city in 2013 being Rotherham in Yorkshire, which suffered a small drop in average home values of 0.1% over the past 12 months.
Lawrence Hall of Zoopla.co.uk said:
“This year saw a host of new government initiatives that are now helping the property market to gain stability and set the foundations for a sustainable recovery. As a result 2013 has witnessed property price growth across most of the country and particularly at the entry level of the market. With confidence in the market increasing, 2014 could see further price growth as transaction levels pick up, construction continues and more property comes to the market.”
