House prices soar 70% in the south as north sees decline
HOMEOWNERS in many parts of the UK outside London have seen their property’s value shoot up more than 70 per cent over the last decade.
All the top 10 performing towns in a survey are in the south while parts of the north, Scotland and Northern Ireland experienced price falls.
Three of the best performing places are in Essex, with Harlow topping the table on 74.92 per cent.
The cost of a home in the town has risen from £165,829 in 2010 to £290,068 in 2020.
Southend-on-Sea is in second place with a 74.85 per cent lift to £298,904, and Thurrock prices rose by 73.2 per cent to £273,062.
Hertfordshire has four areas in the top 10, led by Watford where prices increased nearly 75 per cent to £356,443. Broxbourne, Three Rivers and St Albans saw similar rises.
Cambridge, Bristol and Dartford also featured in the top 10, with rises over 70 per cent, according to analysis of the UK House Price Index by cashlady.com.
At the other end of the scale, Ards and North Down in Northern Ireland suffered the biggest fall over the decade, down 7.73 per cent to £156,576.
The area is closely followed by Aberdeen, where prices have fallen 7.47 per cent to £146,910. Two areas of north-east England featured among the 10 biggest price drops: County Durham, down 5.18 per cent to £103,668, and Middlesbrough, down three per cent to £112,257.
The average London figure has gone from £270,118 to £481,700 – a 78.33 per cent rise. Some boroughs boomed by over 100 per cent. Waltham Forest saw the biggest rises, 105.1 per cent, from £213,488 to £437,867.