London house prices could rise by a further £21,000 this year
The house price boom caused by the introduction of the stamp duty holiday could see the average house price across England climb by another £23,000 before the end of the year, should current market trends continue.
House prices are increasing at an average of 0.84 per cent a month across England, according to research by estate and lettings agent Barrows and Forrester, shared with City A.M.
This has pushed the current average house price across the nation as high as £268,291 at present but should this rate of growth continue for the remainder of this year, it could add a further £23,376 to the average homes value, putting the average house price in England at £291,667.
The firm analysed the average monthly rate of house price growth since the introduction of the stamp duty holiday back in July last year.
London
While London has seen the lowest monthly rate of growth since last July at just 0.43 per cent, the rate of growth could still add a further £21,623 to property values in the capital this year, according to B&F.
The South West could also be due to see house prices climb by a further £26,838 by December and the South East could be due to see the biggest boost in the cash value of bricks and mortar, having seen house prices rise at 0.87 per cent a month since the introduction of the stamp duty holiday.
At an average of 1.09 per cent a month, the North West has enjoyed the highest average monthly rate of house price growth since the introduction of the stamp duty holiday. Should this continue, it could push the average house price in the region as high as £205,456, a jump of £21,104.
The East Midlands could also see an increase of more than £20,000, while in the North East and West Midlands the increase would be the lowest, but even still, homeowners could see an increase of £12,139 and £18,206 respectively.
“Enough time has passed since the introduction of the stamp duty holiday that we now have a clear picture of just how much it has impacted the property market,” said James Forrester, managing director of Barrows & Forrester.
“To see such strong and consistent growth on a monthly basis, for such a prolonged period of time, really demonstrates the positive impact it’s had on property values and we’re yet to see any signs of the market running low on steam in this respect,” he told City A.M.
“With house prices having already boomed, we’re sure to see more of the same and current trends would suggest homeowners across the nation are due to see the value of their homes climb by a further five figures before the year is out,” Forrester added.
He stressed it is unlikely that the market will see an abrupt decline in property prices when the stamp duty holiday does expire.
“Any repositioning of the market is unlikely to occur until January next year, once we pause for breath over the Christmas period,” Forrester concluded.