Where should the UK housing market be at its most active in 2019?
It’s no secret that the continuing uncertainty surrounding Brexit has rather dampened the previous buoyancy of the housing market, especially in London. This situation has increased the importance of property professionals maximising their returns by homing in on carefully-selected hotspots.
While we don’t have access to a crystal ball, we can tell from an array of factors which parts of the UK should see promising growth in their housing markets as the year continues to unfold.
Surrey Quays, Southwark
While London house prices have, since last summer, fallen to £614,000 on average as per a Homes & Property report, analysis by property portal Rightmove has shown certain areas of the capital bucking the trend. Those areas include Southwark’s Surrey Quays…
Here, asking prices for properties have, in the past year, grown by 3.7% to touch £533,607 on average – largely on account of the area’s impressive transport links and promising new developments, including the Canada Water Masterplan.
Barry, Glamorgan
You might know this Welsh seaside town best as the hometown of character Stacey in the hit sitcom Gavin and Stacey, but it’d be short-sighted to cite just that as the impetus for the area’s place at the summit of the UK housing market. Average asking prices here have soared by 11% in a year.
That increase has brought the average price to £191,050 – and, given the well-regarded schools as well as the 2,500 new, under-construction homes in the area, further rises certainly look likely.
Birmingham, West Midlands
While reports have painted a dispiriting picture of the London housing market’s future growth prospects as Brexit-related uncertainty continues to linger, the situation looks very different in cities further north. In justification, we can cite data recently released by property website Zoopla…
This data reveals that Birmingham has seen higher house price increases than any other UK city since the Brexit referendum. The rate of increase was 16% – edging the city ahead of…
Manchester, Greater Manchester
In the Zoopla figures, Manchester’s growth rate in house prices since the referendum has reached 15%. Little needs to be said of the wealth of local attractions, certainly in terms of culture and sport, that likely continue to lure many homebuyers to the Greater Manchester city.
However, it is easy to overlook Manchester’s worth as a business hub. The workspaces available for businesses here include well-supplied serviced offices just a stone’s throw away from Albert Square.
Haringey, North London
A sure sign that you still shouldn’t rule out London despite the discouraging Brexit factor, the Haringey borough of North London has actually seen a 7% growth in its rents in 12 months, reports Homes & Property. In this measure, Haringey has outpaced every other London borough.
There should be even more to come, though, with the local economy tipped for growth of 14% by 2022. Be careful not to underestimate either Haringey’s popularity with younger tenants or London’s continued viability as a business base; local amenities for start-ups, for example, are plentiful.
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