House prices rise fastest in provincial towns as more leave capital

HOUSE prices are rising faster in provincial towns than in London as the cost of property in the capital drives people out, new data reveals.

Cheltenham has been identified as the UK’S biggest house price “winner” of 2017, according to a survey by Halifax, with a 13 per cent rise in the past 12 months. The Cotswold town, where prices rose at nearly five times the average UK rate, was joined in the top three by Bournemouth, which saw an 11.7 per cent rise and Brighton, where prices increased 11.4 per cent.

Fifteen of the top 20 house price performers over the past year are in London and southern England. However, the bank said that London’s eclipse at the top of the “improver” rankings was due to lack of affordability dampening demand. Mortgage affordability in the capital is also comparatively poor.

Separate figures indicate that the number of people leaving London is at a 10-year high – around 14 per cent greater in 2016 than 2006.

Outside London and the South East, the other areas with the fastest-rising house prices in 2017 were Huddersfield (9.3 per cent), Nottingham (8.9 per cent) and Lincoln (8.4 per cent) along with Stockport (8.2 per cent) and Swansea (7.7 per cent).

Russell Galley, the managing director of Halifax, said: “A number of towns and cities have recorded significant rises in house prices over the past year, with all of the top 20 performers recording growth of at least double the national average.

“Unlike last year, the top performers are not exclusive to London and the South East, with the top spot now belonging to Cheltenham in the South West, and towns in East Anglia, the East Midlands, the North West, Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber also making the list.”

At the other end of the spectrum, 13 towns recorded declines in house prices in 2017, with the largest fall in Perth, Scotland, at 5.3 per cent.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics in September showed the typical price of a home in the Cotswolds was more than £384,745.

The body released data yesterday indicating that more than 80 people move from London to Bristol each week. Other popular destinations were Brighton and Birmingham, whose populations were swollen by a combined 12,100 people from the capital last year.