Wales bucks trend as UK house values fall
WALES is the only country in Britain to have seen property values increase since the start of the year, according to a website.
While prices in the nation have been described as “resilient” after posting a 0.4% increase, homes across Britain have seen £29bn shaved off their total value since the start of 2017.
Zoopla said homes across the UK are now valued at £7.93 trillion in total.
The fall, seen between the start of January and the end of March, equates to a decrease of £1,004 in the average value of a home over the three-month period – or a decline of £11.15 in the value of a property per day.
Zoopla, which analysed data on its website to make the findings, said Wales was the only country to buck the trend.
Property values across England have slipped back by 0.41% over the last three months, while values in Scotland have edged down by 0.08%.
Despite the recent general decline, property values across Wales, England and Scotland are still higher than they were a year ago, Zoopla said.
At a local level, Tredegar, near Ebbw Vale, was identified as Britain’s biggest property hotspot for growth in values over the past three months, with a 1.83% increase. And Ebbw Vale itself has also seen property values jump by 1.63% since the start of the year.
Chepstow has also bucked the general downward trend in property values over the last three months, with Leominster in Herefordshire, Broadstairs in Kent, Godalming in Surrey, Ossett in West Yorkshire and Brixham in Devon all also recording increases.
At the other end of the spectrum, Bridport in Dorset has seen the biggest decline in property values over the last three months, with a 2.06% fall, the research found.
Parts of London and the surrounding commuter belt were also among the areas to see the biggest declines in property values since the start of the year, including Morden, Northwood and Waltham Cross.
Some recent housing market reports have said that parts of Britain where house prices are already high and affordability is stretched are seeing a cooldown in house price growth, while areas where home affordability is less stretched are seeing bigger upswings in price growth.
The average value of a home in Tredegar is £102,062, while an average home in Bridport is valued at more than three times this, at £325,380, according to Zoopla’s figures.
Zoopla spokesman Lawrence Hall said: “We have seen a small fall in house price growth for the first quarter of this year; however, annually prices across Britain are up 1.44%.
“The softening in values and continued low mortgage rates are positive news for first-time buyers trying to get on to the property ladder.
“These prospective home owners will be pleased to see a decrease in overall property values as seemingly unstoppable growth has pushed many areas out of reach in the past year.
It’s also encouraging to see “the resilience of the Welsh property market which in the past has often lagged behind England and Scotland.”