North East house prices rising at sharpest rate in the UK

North East property prices are rising faster than anywhere else in the UK.

The latest Land Registry statistics show house prices across the region rose to an average £160,406 in February, a monthly jump of 3.2%, and 2.9% year-on-year.

Across England as a whole, prices rose by 0.6 % in February but were down by 1.1% over the previous 12 months.

Scotland saw prices fall by an average of 0.6% during February, but that still represented a year-on-year rise of 5.6%. The picture was reversed in Wales, where prices were up 0.4% but still down by -1.2% overall on February 2023.

The West Midlands saw the sharpest fall in February, down by 1.2%, which brought the 12-month decrease to 2.9 per cent.

London has seen the sharpest fall in average prices over the last year, with February’s 0.7% drop bringing the decline over 12 months to 4.8%. Snapping up a home in the Capital will still cost you an average of £502,690. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS’) February 2024 UK Residential Market Survey reported an increase in buyer demand for the second successive month, with most parts of the UK seeing a recovery in buyer enquires since the turn of the year, as well as the the largest increase is houses being listed since October 2020.

And the Bank of England’s Agents summary of business conditions 2023 Q4 reported a gradual improvement in the market over the month, which is likely driven by the continued easing in mortgage interest rates.

Nathan Emerson, CEO of estate agents industry group Propertymark, said: “A month-on-month growth in house prices is a sign of prosperous green shoots on the run up to spring, which is historic for its higher demand from buyers and sellers.

“This is showing strength within the market and signs of a stabilising economy. Propertymark’s own Housing Insight Report showed that there was an 18 per cent increase in new properties coming to the market.

“Furthermore, the number of mortgage approvals made to home buyers increased from 56,100 in January to 60,400 in February, according to recent Bank of England figures, showing that all signs are pointing in the right direction, which should provide aspiring or current homeowners with the confidence they deserve right now.”