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The housing market has always been up and down with booms and falls and we as a nation are obsessed with property prices, but would it be a surprise to learn that 70% of home owners don’t have an accurate understanding of what their property is worth with around 45% of people undervaluing their properties and 25% overvaluing them (10% by over £100,000). In this article we will take a look at the historical trends in property prices over the last few decades and take a look at some regional trends too.
National Trends
Home buying really only gained popularity in the 1980’s when the Housing Act introduced the right to buy scheme. At that time, the average house price was just over £23,000. By the end of the 80’s though, this had increased to £51,400. There was, however, quite a deep recession in the 1990’s which saw property prices essentially stagnate and by 1993 prices hadn’t really moved at all with the average being around £51k. In the early 2000’s there was a property boom on the back of cheaper and easier to obtain mortgages and in 2002 average property prices had reached just over £106k and this climb continued until 2008 when prices reached nearly £186k. That is when the bubble burst and by the end of 2009 prices had fallen back to £154k on the back of the credit crunch. Since then, there has been a steady increase in property prices and by 2015 the average property was being sold for around £194k. The Covid pandemic of 2020 and the subsequent government interventions to keep the property market buoyant further increased property prices and by the end of 2021 the average price for a property had grown to £272k. If we just look at the 1990’s to the present, property values have increased over 500% which is a pretty good return on investment.
Regional Variances
Clearly there are regional variances with some areas seeing higher property prices and some lower than the national average.
Looking at the South-East over the last 15 years, property prices have increased from £237k to £380k which is a very healthy 60% increase. The Midlands, although generally cheaper has also seen good growth with prices growing from around £160k to around £235k on average. This is a 47% increase over the 15 year period. Moving to the East of England prices have risen from just over £200k to around £350k. The cheapest place to live is the North-East, but even there, property prices have grown well.
What about your property?
The numbers above are average numbers and will not accurately reflect your individual property. Features such as off-street parking, large south facing gardens, extensions and renovations will all make any given property value different to a similar sized property in the same area. If you would like a quick overview of how much your property is worth, try our free online valuation tool – you might be pleasantly surprised! For a more accurate review of your home which will include improvements and the condition of your property book a free one-to-one market appraisal with one of our experienced local property agents.
