London house gap at 20yr high

September 25, 2015

According to Hometrack Cities House Price Index, the gap between house prices in London and other major  cities  across the UK is at its widest for 20 years, this is despite reports of a reduction in the gap between regional house prices, city level figures confirm that the slowdown in London is not happening.

Hometrack date showed homebuyers can expect to save on average £300,000 if they buy in Manchester instead of London,   the gap however  is at it’s biggest when comparing like for like between Glasgow and London where  buyers could expect 75% saving.

City level house price inflation is running at 8.3% up from 6.6% in May,  the low replacement rate of stock continues to create scarcity and helps to  sustain the upward pressure on house prices, added to that the ever lower interest rates have added to an increase in mortgage approvals for home purchase in the past six months.

Richard Donnell, Director of research at Hometrack, reportedly said: “A changing mix of buyers is compounding the scarcity of housing for sale with rising numbers of first-time buyers and investors buying property while having nothing to sell. Only a recovery in the number of moves among existing homeowners or an increase in new supply will ease the current housing scarcity – which seems unlikely in the near term.

“London’s price earnings ratio is at an all-time high, while there remains value in most other regional cities. The pricing differential with London could well assist city regions to attract new investment as the cost of housing starts to influence decision-making for both households and businesses.”

See Hometrack website for full details: https://www.hometrack.com/uk/insight/uk-cities-house-price-index/

 

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Landlords unprepared for the Renters’ Rights Act

Three quarters have made no preparations for the end of Section 21, despite major reforms taking effect from May 2026 New research from Inventory Base has revealed widespread lack of preparedness among UK landlords ahead of the first phase of reforms under the Renters’ Rights Act (RRA), due to come into force on 1 May…
Read More →
Breaking News

Why capital is staying in London despite a cooling housing market

By Joe Freedman, Head of Origination at ASK Partners London isn’t suffering from a lack of housing demand. It’s suffering from a failure to deliver. New data from Molior underlines the scale of that failure. Just 5,547 private homes broke ground across the capital last year, an 84% drop from a decade ago. Against an…
Read More →
Breaking News

The hidden risk of overvaluing your home when moving in today’s market

With many homeowners turning ambitious conversations into tangible moving plans, the start of the year traditionally marks a surge in activity, particularly for families planning for the future. While the property market remains fundamentally healthy, experts at Beresfords say overvaluing property is one issue that continues to undermine the progress of those looking to sell.…
Read More →
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Rightmove launches next phase of AI-powered property search

Rightmove, the UK’s largest property platform, has launched a beta version of AI-powered conversational property search, as it continues to enhance its property search experience. In close collaboration with Google Cloud and built with Google’s Gemini models, conversational search is available via the property search bar on Rightmove’s website homepage. The latest move further expands…
Read More →
Breaking News

Should you break things off with your mortgage lender this Valentine’s Day?

As Valentine’s Day approaches, the latest research from award-winning mortgage adviser, Alexander Hall, has revealed that more than half of homeowners approaching the end of a fixed-rate mortgage are currently undecided on their relationship with their lender, despite notable improvements across the mortgage market over the last 12 months. The consumer insight, commissioned by Alexander…
Read More →
Breaking News

UK Finance Mortgage arrears and possessions Q4 2025

UK Finance today releases its latest mortgage arrears and possessions data for Q4 2025, while highlighting continuing lender support for any customers facing financial difficulty. Key Information The number of homeowner mortgages in arrears fell by four per cent in Q3 2025 compared to the previous quarter. The number of buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages in arrears…
Read More →