Forget the current party-political turmoil, who has thrown the best political house party?

February 21, 2019
small house bird box

The UK’s current political landscape is in turmoil and with both main parties fighting among themselves and the latest developments of a Labour Party split with seven of its members resigning the party whip. With Nigel Farage also waiting in the wings with his new Brexit Party should Article 50 be further extended, it could all get a bit more uncertain yet, so Yomdel has looked at which party is the best for house price growth to at least settle one debate.

On top of the lack of suitable housing being built by the government, the UK housing market has been hit fairly hard by political uncertainty, with transactions suffering whilst house price growth is falling. So Yomdel looked at historic house price growth across the reign of each political party to see which has been best for UK homeowners.

Since the Conservative landslide victory in 1979, house prices have increased by 256% across the UK, but who has been behind this?

As a whole

When looking at total growth seen under each government, the Conservatives come out on top with prices increasing 122.3% during their two terms between 1979-96 and 2015 until now. Labour saw house prices increase 116.2% while they were in power between 1997 and 2009, with a Conservative and Lib Dem government seeing growth of just 17.7% between 2010 and 2014.

By tenure

Unfortunately for the Conservative Party, looking at house price growth by tenure tells a different story. Between 1979 and 1996, the Conservative’s presided over a housing market that saw prices increase by 107.7%. The market then went on to see prices rise by 116.2% between 1997 and 2009 under Labour. The Conservative/Lib Dem coalition saw prices rise by just 17.7% during their four years in power, with prices increasing by just 14.6% during the last three years under a Conservative government.

Annually

When looking at the average annual house price growth under each party, Labour once again comes out on top with an increase of 8.9%, with the Conservatives seeing an annual rate of growth of 6% in their first term and just 3.7% in their latest, or 5.8% when considered as a whole.

Property expert and Yomdel CEO, Andy Soloman, commented:

“Perhaps unexpectedly, it’s Labour that takes the crown as Britain’s best house party for homeowners with prices having increased at a greater rate during their tenure. With the current market suffering at the hands of a very drawn out Brexit process, it’s unlikely that the Conservatives will be able to reverse this property market trend any time soon and they could well become the party behind a stagnant housing market for years to come.

Of course, strong house price growth isn’t necessarily a good thing if you don’t own a home and with both parties currently unsure whether they’re coming or going on a number of issues, maybe we should all wipe the slate clean and vote Conservative if we don’t own a home and Labour if we do.

This would bring some simplicity to the otherwise shambolic political landscape we currently find ourselves in.”

Period
Party in Government
House Price
Growth (%)
1979
Conservative
£19,830
–
1980
Conservative
£23,288
17.4
1981
Conservative
£24,010
3.1
1982
Conservative
£24,851
3.5
1983
Conservative
£27,623
11.2
1984
Conservative
£31,076
12.5
1985
Conservative
£34,378
10.6
1986
Conservative
£37,627
9.5
1987
Conservative
£43,164
14.7
1988
Conservative
£51,405
19.1
1989
Conservative
£61,514
19.7
1990
Conservative
£57,683
-6.2
1991
Conservative
£54,626
-5.3
1992
Conservative
£51,815
-5.2
1993
Conservative
£51,211
-1.2
1994
Conservative
£51,633
0.8
1995
Conservative
£51,245
-0.8
1996
Conservative
£53,394
4.2
Total Increase
107.7
Increase per annum
6.0
1997
Labour
£59,199
10.9
1998
Labour
£65,201
10.1
1999
Labour
£71,122
9.1
2000
Labour
£80,366
13.0
2001
Labour
£88,799
10.5
2002
Labour
£106,407
19.8
2003
Labour
£127,246
19.6
2004
Labour
£148,359
16.6
2005
Labour
£156,325
5.4
2006
Labour
£166,470
6.5
2007
Labour
£181,364
9.0
2008
Labour
£168,973
-6.8
2009
Labour
£156,512
-7.4
Total Increase
116.2
Increase per annum
8.9
2010
Conservative/Lib Dem
£165,483
5.7
2011
Conservative/Lib Dem
£165,131
-0.2
2012
Conservative/Lib Dem
£163,628
-0.9
2013
Conservative/Lib Dem
£168,928
3.2
2014
Conservative/Lib Dem
£185,620
9.9
Total Increase
17.7
Increase per annum
3.6
2015
Conservative
£193,900
4.5
2016
Conservative
£203,771
5.1
2017
Conservative*
£209,935
3.0
2018
Conservative*
£214,163
2.0
Total Increase
14.6
Increase per annum
3.7
* No overall control
House Price Data: Nationwide House Price Index

 

Properganda PR

National and local media coverage for property businesses. Journo quotes delivered in minutes.

You May Also Enjoy

Home and Living

Signs of Outdated Wiring in Older Tulsa-Area Homes

Tulsa has a lot of beautiful older homes. Brookside bungalows, Maple Ridge tudors, the postwar neighborhoods that fill out Midtown and East Tulsa. They were built well, but most were built before central air, before microwaves, before two-car households with two laptops and a dozen phone chargers. The electrical systems inside them were designed for…
Read More →
LIVING BY THE SEASIDE 2022
Breaking News

Britain’s seaside price hotspots revealed

New analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals Britain’s seaside hotspots where prices are rising the fastest Bootle in Merseyside leads the way, with average asking prices up 11% year-on-year, followed by Crosby in Liverpool (+9%) and Penarth in South Glamorgan (+9%) Other coastal locations including Llantwit Major in South Glamorgan (+8%) and Llanelli, in Carmarthenshire (+7%) are also seeing strong price growth Average asking prices are currently 0.3% lower in Great Britain compared to last year, with some seaside hotspots outpacing the…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

Hertfordshire emerges as strongest performing London commuter county

New research from UK Property Development reveals that while London property prices fell by more than -3% in the past year, prices in some of the capital’s surrounding counties have enjoyed positive growth, none more so than the premium commuter county of Hertfordshire.   In the past year, London’s average house price has fallen by…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

Second homes losing appeal among the rich

New Survey Reveals Ongoing Maintenance Is the Biggest Barrier to Second Home Ownership   62% say upkeep and hassle would stop them from buying a second home, even if money were no object   A new survey conducted by luxury co-ownership platform Equity Residences has revealed that the practical realities of owning a second home…
Read More →
Letting Agent Talk

How to build a property portfolio with buy-to-let mortgages

One of the reasons property is such a popular asset choice for investors is that you don’t need to invest all the money yourself; you can leverage funds from the bank. Here’s a very simplistic example of how borrowing via a buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage allows you to multiply your returns versus owning a property all-cash:…
Read More →
Home and Living

2026’s Fastest-Growing Bathroom Trend Is the Wet Room

“Wet rooms have become one of the standout bathroom upgrades of 2026, moving from luxury extra to everyday renovation choice as more homeowners prioritise space, style and easy cleaning. The momentum is only building as spa‑style bathrooms stay in demand.” “Wet rooms used to be a niche request,” says Ant Langston, Marketing Manager at Heat…
Read More →