Stoke heads UK list of biggest annual house price growth, says Halifax

Stoke-on-Trent experienced the biggest annual house price growth in the UK, while Huddersfield had the biggest decline, according to the mortgage lender Halifax.

Average house prices in the Staffordshire city jumped by 17.2% or £33,000 in the 12 months to September, to £227,002 as buyers sought more affordable options against a backdrop of high mortgage costs.

The place with the second-biggest house price growth was Slough in Berkshire, where the average property price rose by 14.9% to £497,704, up by more than £64,000, while in Oldham in Greater Manchester the cost of a home increased by 14.6% to £250,546.

Research from Halifax earlier this year found that more than seven in 10 (73%) house purchases in Slough were made by first-time buyers.

At the other end of the scale, Huddersfield posted a decline of 6.6% over the 12 months to September, equivalent to a fall of £18,514. Huddersfield came top of the table last year, with an average growth in house price of 8.7%, which means that house values in the area have risen overall over the two years.

Several London boroughs also experienced house price declines this year, including Ealing, Southwark, Harrow and Westminster.

Westminster in west London still has some of the highest property prices in the country, though, at an average of £730,589, which was down 3.6% from a year earlier.

Amanda Bryden, the head of mortgages at Halifax, said: “Some areas of the UK – including Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Dunfermline – have seen remarkable house price growth this year, as buyers perhaps seek out more affordable areas where house prices, despite increases, are still coming in under the national average. This trend is causing house prices in some areas to flip from slowing, to growing, such as Stoke-on-Trent, which was the biggest faller last year but showed the highest rate of growth, regionally, this year.”

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In contrast, in London, the high asking price for properties means house prices have fallen in several boroughs, perhaps a reflection that the relatively high cost of properties is stretching affordability for buyers, or what they are willing to pay, she said. Overall, London has a house price to earnings ratio of 8.22, making it one of the least affordable places to live in the country, against a national ratio of 6.55.

In the south-east there has been robust growth in places such as Basingstoke and Maidstone but overall it is lagging behind the rest of the UK, with an increase of 1.8%, compared with 6.3% for the UK overall.

“Much like London, first-time buyers won’t find a bargain here, as the slow growth is likely a consequence of the already-high property prices, relative to the national average,” Bryden said.

Despite elevated mortgage and rent costs, the UK’s housing market this year has turned out to be “surprisingly resilient”, according to Nationwide building society. Average house prices are expected to have risen by more than 3%, according to lenders and estate agents, after falling by 1.4% in 2023.

Looking ahead to the new year, house prices are predicted to grow at a similar or slightly faster rate in 2025 – before accelerating to as much as 5.5% in 2026 – while record rent increases are likely to return to more normal levels, experts predict.