North set for 24pc rise in house prices after Brexit

HOUSE prices in the North could rise by nearly a quarter after Brexit, says a new report.

Estate agent Savills said the surge would come after ‘Brexit and election-related angst’ faded, pushing up average prices as much as 24pc by 2024.

Over the same time period, prices in London are expected to rise by just 4pc. It came as a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed that housing sales were still sluggish.

It said enquiries from new buyers fell for the second month in a row, with nervous sellers also stuck in a ‘holding pattern’.

Savills said a resolution to current political turmoil in the UK would give the market a bounce.

Its forecast assumed the General Election on December 12 will not result in significant changes to housing policies, that the UK will leave the EU with a deal and there would be no economic recession.

It also assumed the Bank of England will increase interest rates to 2pc by the end of 2024.

This will see the price of a typical British home go from £231,000 today to a predicted £266,000 in five years, Savills said, although that takes into account big differences across the country.

Prices in the North would rise from £210,000 to as much as £260,400. In London the rise would be from £480,000 to £499,200.

Savills predicted that this trend is likely to continue because prices in other parts of the country grew more slowly after the financial crisis, leaving more room for faster growth now as property hunters look outside the capital.

The report emerged as official figures showed UK house price growth held steady, with a 1.3pc increase over the year to September according to data from the Office for National Statistics, the Land Registry and other bodies. Across the UK the average price was £234,000.