House prices have continued to climb higher
THE UK’S prime residential markets have seen further growth in the last year – with prices in parts of Shropshire and Staffordshire increasing by over 10 per cent in the 12 months to the end of March.
The latest research has been released by international real estate advisor Savills, and agents say the rises continue to be underpinned by high levels of buyer demand coupled with low levels of properties for sale.
Nationally, prime residential markets witnessed annual price growth of nine per cent on the back of two per cent quarterly growth.
In the £2m+ country house market, prices have increased by 6.5 per cent year on year across the north and midlands as a whole, behind the national rise of 10.3 per cent. This is still 24 per cent below the peak of the 2007 market, demonstrating that there is room for further growth and highlighting the value of properties in the region in comparison to the country house market in London and the south east.
Peter Daborn, residential sales director at Savills in the West Midlands, said: “With the ‘race for space’ yet to fully run its course, demand for homes outside London remains extremely strong. The need for greenery clearly remains a factor and best in class country houses remain highly sought after. In Shropshire and Staffordshire, those close to the best schools with good links to the likes of Birmingham and London perform particularly well.
“While activity levels have slowed slightly in the mainstream market, there is still a strong core of unmet demand at the top end of the market that, for now, remains undeterred by higher costs of debt, rising costs of living and the geo-political uncertainty triggered by the war in Ukraine. Here, equity outweighs debt as a source of funding and much higher levels of disposable income mean buyers have been more insulated against macro-economic pressures.”
Elsewhere, central London recorded its strongest quarterly price growth in eight years as international buyers began to re-enter a stock-constrained market largely dominated by domestic buyers over the past two years. Prices ticked up 1.1 per cent, leaving them 2.8 per cent higher than a year ago. Though still outpaced by the country, this was the most robust performance since the stamp duty changes of 2014.