Nationwide: North of England has lowest house prices in UK

According to Nationwide, the lowest house prices in the UK are now in the North East of England and Cumbria.

Previously, Northern Ireland had the cheapest homes in the country, however according to Nationwide, the North East of England and Cumbria now have the lowest house prices in the UK.

House prices have been rising in Northern Ireland and Scotland, but the North saw prices fall by 1% over the last year.

Prices in the UK overall rose by 5.1% in the year to June, up from 4.7% last month.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist said: “Gauging the likely impact on house prices will be even more difficult.

“Ultimately conditions in the housing market will be determined by conditions in the wider economy, especially the labour market. It is too early to assess the impact of the referendum vote on the economy.

“However, it is encouraging that the labour market had remained robust in recent months, with solid employment growth and the unemployment rate declining to an eleven-year low in April.

“Moreover, the lack of homes on the market – with estate agents continuing to report a record low number of properties on their books – will also provide underlying support for prices even if demand softens.”

The average price of a house or flat in the North of England has fallen to £123,914 in the second quarter of 2016, compared to the same period last year. According to Nationwide, it is now the only area of the UK where prices are dropping.

House prices in Northern Ireland rose by 1.6%, bringing average prices up to £128,562.

In Scotland, prices rose by 0.5% – the first quarterly increase after four consecutive declines.

On average homes cost £141,245 north of the border.

The gap in average prices between the North and the South has also increased to nearly £169,000, according to the Nationwide figures.

That is another record high, and £24,000 higher than a year ago.

Even though the overall figures show a slight increase in house price inflation in the year to June, experts predict that the EU referendum result will have a big impact on prices in the months ahead.

 

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