Average house price hits new high

And news for renters is no better with highest price rise in 13 years, reports Vicky Shaw

The average house price has hit a record high of £270,000 after surging by £28,000 over the past year, official figures show.

Across the UK, property values increased by 11.8% over the year to September, accelerating from 10.2% annual growth in August, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The average house price in Wales increased by 15.4% over the year to September, hitting a record £196,000.

In England, the average house price increased by 11.5% over the year to September, also pushing the average property value there to a record high of £288,000.

The average house price in Scotland increased by 12.3% over the year to September to reach £180,000.

In Northern Ireland, the typical property value increased by 10.7% annually, reaching £159,000.

In England, the North West was the region with the highest annual house price growth,

with average prices increasing by 16.8%.

London was the region with the lowest annual growth (2.8%) for the 10th month in a row.

This represented the lowest annual growth in London since July 2020.

London’s average house prices remained the most expensive of any region in the UK at an average of £507,000 in September.

Nick Leeming, chairman at Jackson-Stops, said: “Today’s figures continue to show a market still very much defined by the unbalanced relationship between low stock and high demand amongst buyers across the country.

“A busy market will favour those buyers armed with deep pockets or at the very least a mortgage in principle agreed.”

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, said: “This phenomenal rate of growth is likely to slow over the coming months, not only in the wake of the stamp duty holiday but as the usual festive lethargy starts to build and many home buyers and sellers now look beyond the Christmas period with a view to moving.”

Meanwhile, the cost of renting is also on the up, rising at the fastest pace since 2008 as strong demand outstrips supply, according to an index.

Across the UK, private sector rents in September were 4.6% higher than a year earlier at £968 per month on average, marking the strongest growth in 13 years, Zoopla found.

Excluding London, rents across the UK were up by 6.0% annually, a figure which Zoopla said was a 14-year high.

Rents in the South West of England were up by 9.0% annually, making it the region registering the fastest rental growth in the third quarter of 2021.

And rent sin Purbeck in Dorset were up by 16.2% annually, making it the location with the highest rate of rental growth.

Zoopla said demand is continuing to outstrip supply and putting an upward pressure on rents.

Rental growth is also partly due to the popularity of properties in higher price bands, reflecting an ongoing search for space during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rents in London are also now starting to climb as people return to offices, with annual price growth of 1.6% recorded in the latest report, compared with falls of nearly 10% at the start of the year.

Annual growth in rental prices stood at 2.7% in Scotland (averaging £627 per month), 5.8% in Northern Ireland (£633 per month typically) and 7.7% in Wales (£660 per month).

Grainne Gilmore, head of research at Zoopla said: “The swing back of demand into city centres, including London, has underpinned another rise in rents in quarter three, especially as the supply of rental property remains tight.”

She added: “Meanwhile, just as in the sales market, there is still a cohort of renters looking for properties offering more space, or a more rural or coastal location.”