RE-CLIMBING THE LADDER
The areas in the UK where properties have surpassed their pre-financial crash value
BUYING a home is more expensive than ever - as most parts of the UK have fully recovered from the financial crash of a decade ago.
House prices plummeted in the wake of the meltdown, which started in December 2007 - with some experts claiming property prices would never recover. But data shows that wasn’t the case, with a rapid if steady recovery which has recently gathered pace. Buying a home in the year to October 2017 cost an average of £223,807 across the UK - more than £34,000 more than the £189,589 it would have cost in 2007.
England has seen the most complete recovery, driven by the ever-buoyant property market in London and the south east.
The data shows homes in England are now £69,000 more expensive than they were in 2007.
That compares with just £4,000 in Wales and £3,000 in Scotland.
Only Northern Ireland is yet to recover, with house-prices still an eye-watering £82,000 lower than in 2007.
England, Wales and Scotland were all hit equally hard by the global recession.
In the year to October 2007, a property in England cost £195,000 on average, but by 2008, that had dropped to just £168,000.
And the average value of a home in Wales fell from £140,000 in 2007 to £130,000 the following year. Recovery in Wales took longer, with the average price of a home still standing at just £133,000 as late as 2010. In the seven years following, Welsh properties have risen by a further £11,000.