Durham house prices 'are still below pre-2008 crash level'

Property prices across the UK have surged during the pandemic but the rise has not been uniform nationwide. The average price in Durham is still almost £3,000 less than it was more than 13 years ago.

Hartlepool is the only other location in the country where prices are yet to bounce back.

Relocation website Just Move In analysed data from the Land Registry UK House Price Index from September 2021, and found the current average property price in Durham is £119,447 in the latest figures, £2,890 below what it was in October of the same year.

The average price is Hartlepool is £129,438 - £3,498 lower than the £132,936 it peaked at in November 2007.

Nationally, the average UK home peaked at £190,032 in September 2007, and is currently 142% higher at £269,945.

Just Move In co-founder Ross Nichols said the figures revealed a stark north/south divide in how the property market had revered from the recession.

Cambridge, London and St Albans have fared best since the crash, with prices currently 181%, 175% and 168% of their pre-crash peak respectively.

London was the quickest region to recover from the crash, with prices bouncing back after just two years, while Blackpool and Middlesbrough have only nudged above their pre-crash peaks in the most recent data.

“The housing market has exploded over the past year, but it’s sobering to think that parts of the country have only recently recovered to the levels they were before the 2008 crash,” said Ross Nichols.

“Hartlepool and Durham are the last two parts of the country that still haven’t hit that level, while Blackpool and Middlesbrough only recovered in the most recent figures.

“There’s a North-South divide when it comes to the recovery, with London and other Southern cities bouncing back quickly, while Northern areas are still lagging behind.”

Nine of the fastest ten areas to recover are found in the South, while all ten of the slowest regions are in the North.

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