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Average house price up £60K in eight years

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Christina Hoghton
Posted:
Updated:
23/06/2017

The average UK property price is up over 40% since 2009 – a whopping £60,000 in just eight years, according to online estate agent HouseSimple.com.

In March 2009 the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee reduced its Bank Rate to what was an all-time low of 0.5% (it has since cut rates further to 0.25%).

While this was a huge blow to savers who saw their rates plummet, mortgage borowers have cashed in, with a combination of low mortgage rates and a boom in house prices.

Price rises

Across the UK homeowners have seen their properties rise by 41.2% on average, while in London prices have almost doubled (90.8%) in eight years, said HouseSimple.com. Cambridge homeowners have seen the biggest rise in prices sice 2009 – an eye-watering 96% rise.

Seven of the 10 biggest property price rises since March 2009 have been in the South East.

However, at the other end of the chart, Hartlepool (9% drop), Durham (6.2% drop), and Middlesbrough (4.5% drop) – all in the North East – have seen prices fall.

Alex Gosling, CEO of HouseSimple.com, said: “While UK savers have suffered over the past eight years, millions of homeowners have increased their equity in their homes substantially in this once-in-a-generation low interest rate environment. It’s been a golden period for UK homeowners, but there are signs that it could be coming to an end as the MPC narrowly voted to hold interest rates at 0.25%.

“House prices are also under pressure from the political and economic uncertainty of Brexit and the fallout from the disastrous General Election result for the Conservative Party. There is no evidence to suggest that property prices are about to plummet, but homeowners and home buyers do need to plan ahead, and make sure they can cover the impact of interest rate rises on their monthly mortgage payments.”