House prices in the East of England are expected to increase by 10.4 per cent over the next five years, according to new research by Savills.

This would see the price of an average home in our region rise from £380,685 to £420,276 by 2026.

A 3 per cent increase is predicted during 2022 alone.

UK-wide, prices are expected to rise by 13.1 per cent over the next five years and by 3.5 per cent in 2022. This means the average cost of a home in the UK would increase from an average of £327,838 to £370,785 by 2026.

However, the premium end of the market in the East – broadly the top five to 10 per cent by value – is expected to exceed this, with predicted growth of 19.3 per cent over the next five years and four per cent in 2022.

Nick Ingle, head of residential sales at Savills in Harpenden, predicted less urgency in the market next year without the imperative of the stamp duty holiday. When combined with an anticipated interest rate rise, near term price growth was likely to be more muted than we have seen of late, he said.

However, the ongoing supply shortage combined with relatively low unemployment rates and a robust economic performance coming out of a recession means "we simply expect to see softer growth rather than prices falling", he added.

Nick noted that the East of England has experienced above average increases in house price growth for the past decade or more, "so it’s perhaps no surprise to see other parts of the UK now catching up".

He added: “That said, the regional increases we are predicting remain greater than those forecast for properties in London, while we still expect changes in working patterns to underpin demand in more rural areas, albeit to a lesser degree than over the past 18 months.

“With its connectivity to London, excellent schooling, variety of high quality housing stock and access to lots of green space and open countryside, Hertfordshire has always been – and will continue to be – a popular choice for a wide number of buyers.

“A shortage of available properties on the market also means that homes in the most popular towns and villages will continue to be in high demand."