Property prices in Cambridge have risen even faster than in London over the past seven years, new research says.
Property prices in Cambridge have risen almost as fast as in London over the past year, and have actually increased more in percentage terms than the capital over the last seven years.
Average prices in London have risen by £61,000 over the past 12 months, while Cambridge prices have increased 53%, says the first UK Cities House Price Index from Hometrack.
Cities compared
The study looks at average house prices at a local level, focusing on 20 cities across the UK. Here’s how those cities measure up.
|
City |
Growth in average price over last 12 months |
% change over last year |
Change from 2007 |
|
London |
£61,000 |
18.1% |
29.2% |
|
Cambridge |
£53,000 |
17.9% |
32.4% |
|
Oxford |
£32,100 |
10.5% |
20.7% |
|
Bristol |
£26,900 |
14.1% |
8.3% |
|
Bournemouth |
£19,600 |
8.7% |
2% |
|
Portsmouth |
£18,400 |
10.4% |
4.7% |
|
Southampton |
£17,100 |
9.9% |
3.6% |
|
Cardiff |
£13,200 |
8% |
-0.6% |
|
Edinburgh |
£10,900 |
6.1% |
-9% |
|
Aberdeen |
£9,500 |
5.3% |
11.5% |
|
Nottingham |
£9,100 |
7.7% |
-3.8% |
|
Leeds |
£8,900 |
6.8% |
-10.2% |
|
Manchester |
£8,900 |
7% |
-8.1% |
|
Belfast |
£8,800 |
8.3% |
-50.7% |
|
Newcastle |
£8,200 |
7% |
-9.2% |
|
Sheffield |
£6,800 |
5.7% |
-5.9% |
|
Birmingham |
£6,700 |
5.3% |
-7.2% |
|
Leicester |
£6,600 |
4.8% |
-3.6% |
|
Liverpool |
£5,500 |
5.3% |
-15% |
|
Glasgow |
£4,600 |
4.3% |
-14.9% |
As you can see, eight cities have now passed their 2007 peak, with Cambridge up by a third. Notably all of them are found in the south of England, except for Aberdeen where house prices have been boosted by a strong oil price.
However a number of cities have seen drastic price falls since then, most notably Belfast where prices have plunged more than 50%.
Other strugglers include Leeds, Liverpool and Glasgow, which have seen double digit falls since the house price peak.
[Related story: Property asking prices up in October]
Things are slowing down
Hometrack argues that pent-up demand has boosted house prices over the past 18 months, but there are signs that weaker demand is slowing the rate of house price growth.
That’s most clearly demonstrated by the majority of cities seeing a slowdown in the rate of house price growth in recent months compared to back in the spring.
Hometrack’s prediction is in line with Halifax, which has suggested that house prices are now stabilising. The Centre for Economic and Business Research has gone one step further, predicting that prices will fall next year.