East of England records UK’s highest house price growth

The East of England recorded the highest house price growth in the UK over the 12 months to December 2016, new figures have revealed.

Prices rose by 11.3 per cent year-on-year in the area – which includes Herts – compared to a UK-wide average increase of 7.2 per cent.

The figures, published by the Office for National Statistics and Land Registry, showed that the second highest growth was in the South East (8.5 per cent), followed by London (7.5 per cent).

The lowest annual growth was in the North East (4.1 per cent), while the England-wide average stood at 7.7 per cent.

The average price of a property in the East of England stood at £281,513 in December, up 1.9 per cent on the previous month. In England as a whole the average was up 1.6 per cent to £236,424.

Kevin Shaw, national sales director at property specialist Leaders, says: “Despite several factors, including Brexit, threatening to dampen optimism in the property market in 2016, these figures - which carry more weight than any others as they are based on actual completions rather than sales agreed or mortgage approvals - reveal the true resilience of the market.

“Even during what is traditionally one of the quietest times of the year for the market, there was a month-on-month increase in the number of sales and a 1.4 per cent increase in house prices from November to December last year.”

Kevin adds: “High demand has been underpinning rising prices for some time and this shows no sign of changing. It is clear that, even as we head into the uncharted waters of Brexit, people will still need to move, a greater supply of homes will be needed – to both buy and rent - and property will remain an attractive and reliable investment.“