Property guide – North West
After several months of exceptional house price growth in the North West region, 2015 saw a marked slow down. Indeed, according to one article on the Guardian website, the growth in house prices estimated between now and 2020 will be little more than rises in inflation and wages. It is clear that affordability is now a major issue in the North West, as the Bank of England’s new rules on borrowing mean the average salary in the region cannot cover the mortgage needed to buy the average home.
The property market in Manchester has been one of the strongest outside London in recent years, and this trend is expected to continue in most areas of the region. However, even more impressive house price growth is expected in the Trafford area of the city. According to the Manchester Evening News, Trafford is on the verge of a massive surge in house prices.
A unique combination of sought-after business enterprise zones and quality housing is making the area one of Britain’s most exciting property hotspots. And The Land Registry revealed that Trafford saw the largest yearly growth in house prices of all the districts in Manchester between April 2013 and April 2014. Altrincham, Sale, Stretford and Urmston are all proving very popular with house buyers at the moment.
The Liverpool property market has suffered relative stagnation when compared to nearby Manchester. Indeed, according to an article on the Guardian website, the average home in Liverpool is now a massive 75 percent cheaper in Liverpool than in London. Hometrack figures revealed that the average price of a residential property in Liverpool was just £109,600 in 2015 – compared with £437,700 in the capital. And despite recent growth in house prices in Liverpool, average values in the city are still 13.5 percent lower than their 2007 peak, according to This is Money.
In the Cheshire West and Chester region, house prices rose by 0.2 percent in September 2015 alone. This latest rise meant the average property value in the area was 2.1 percent higher than the year before at around £159,000.
Despite house price growth in most areas of the North West during 2015, Cumbria has struggled to maintain previous levels of performance. According to data on The Land Registry website, the average price of a house in the county fell by 0.3 percent in October 2015. The average cost of a home in Cumbria is around £122,000, which is still 14 percent lower than the peak of £142,651 in December 2007.
