Average Property Price Reaches £213k

• June 14, 2016|
• News|
• Darren Clarke

The typical price of a property in the UK is £213,472, according to the most recent Halifax House Price Index.

The latest findings show values have increased by 9.2 per cent over the year leading to May 2016, despite remaining relatively stable over the previous month and growing only by 0.6 per cent from April.

Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis said: “Increasing affordability issues, caused by a sustained period of higher-than-earnings house price growth, should curb housing demand and result in some slowdown in house price growth as the year progresses.”

This could explain the recent stability in the property industry, as a result of more homebuyers being priced out of their market due to steep house prices. Before more transactions can take place, values need to fall in line with earnings growth to make buying a home more affordable for many.

Over the last year, the average property price has increased from £196,429 to £213,472, a difference of £17,045, which is a significant extra to pay for homebuyers.

Of course, London leads the way with house price increases, and previous Halifax research revealed property values per square metre in the capital has risen by 432 per cent over the last 20 years. This is compared with the national average increase of 251 per cent during the same period.

Property owners could boost the value of their property themselves by carrying out renovation work, such as installing bi-fold doors in Cheshire to their kitchen or living rooms.

According to research from Zopa, 27 per cent of homeowners believe home improvements will add between £11,416 and £19,027 to their house’s value, while 19.4 per cent expect the price to rise by between £20,930 and £28,541.