Despite a return to growth for the UK property market in 2024, the recovery was notably slower in Southern England, with just over a third of homeowners seeing their homes increase in value gains over the course of the year.
Newly released data from Zoopla has shown that half of the UK’s 30 million homes increased in value in 2024 as house prices returned to growth following a fall in house prices over 2023 due to weakened buyer demand as a result of higher borrowing costs.
A total of 15 million UK homes increased in value by one per cent or more in 2024, up 42% from the 10.6 million homes that increased in value over 2023. The average increase in value for homes posting price gains was £7,600, with 6.9 million homes recording a price increase of £10,000 or more.
Whilst 2024 saw a broad recovery of house prices, a third (9.2 million homes) still recorded a price decline of one per cent or more, although this was still lower than the 12.8 million homes that saw a decline in house prices in 2023. Just under six million homes saw broadly static prices over the year changing by +/- one per cent.
Home value gains were lower in Southern England
A clear north-south divide remains when it comes to the fortunes of homeowners in 2024 with fewer homes recording an increase in value in Southern England compared to the rest of Britain. This reflects the underlying affordability of homes and the impact of higher mortgage rates on buying power and house prices in areas with above-average home values.
Just 36% of homes increased in value by one per cent or more across the regions in Southern England. 41% of homes fell in value by an average of £8,700. This is in sharp contrast to the northern regions of England and Scotland where 63% of homes registered value gains over 2024.
Coastal towns in Kent and East Sussex were least likely to register price gains in 2024, with many towns seeing less than ten per cent of homes increase in value and more than three-quarters of homes registering small price falls. This is due to the fading of the pandemic boom and the subsequent search for additional space as more workers return to the office. An additional factor is the increase in second homeowners selling in the face of a doubling in council tax from April, which is impacting pricing across many coastal towns.
Lower mortgage rates and rising incomes over 2024 have started to repair housing affordability which saw more homes in Southern England increase in value over 2024 compared to 2023, from 2.8 million in 2023 to 4.8 million in 2024.
Areas in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire saw half of all homes register price gains over 2024. Additionally, Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire saw the largest national average annual price increase at £24,500.
House value increases were most common in Northern England
The North East is one of the most affordable regions and, as a result, seven in ten homeowners (820,000) in the region saw the value of their home increase by an average of £4,300 with one in five (270,000) homeowners seeing house price growth of £10,000 or more. Peterlee in County Durham saw the highest proportion of properties registering higher home values, with 83% registering an increase by an average of £6,100.
The North West saw 63% of homes increasing in value by one per cent or more, averaging £4,400, the highest average gain across all regions and countries of Great Britain. The Cheshire area registered the largest value gains, with six in ten homes in Congleton and Knutsford increasing in value by £10,000 or more.
In Scotland and Yorkshire and the Humber, six in ten homes also gained value in 2024, with average increases of up to £19,300 (Biggar in Scotland), and £15,700 (Ripon in Yorkshire and the Humber).
“The housing market returned to growth in 2024 but the pattern of home value changes across Britain is far from uniform," observed Richard Donnell, Executive Director at Zoopla, adding "There is headroom for prices to increase in markets where housing is affordable compared to incomes which cover many parts of northern England and Scotland.
"In contrast, affordability is more of a constraint on price rises in Southern England where the market continues to adjust to higher borrowing costs. Faster income growth is helping to repair affordability supporting moving decisions in 2025."
He concluded: “Every home has its own trajectory for price changes and millions of owners are tracking the value of their home on Zoopla as part of the decision of when to move home. The momentum from 2024 is spilling into 2025 with a seven-year high number of homes for sale. We expect more people to move home in 2025 than in 2024 despite uncertainty over the economic outlook and broadly static mortgage rates."
Toby Leek, President of NAEA Propertymark said, "It's a positive sign that increases in house prices are being seen as this shows confidence and affordability improving for buyers and sellers in the market. Not only will many homeowners be happy to see that their home may potentially have increased in value, but our latest member agent data also shows the overall number of properties achieving asking price has nearly doubled month on month meaning moving home and receiving the price expected is becoming easier."
Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank commented, “A slowdown in house price growth is in the post. As sub-4% mortgage offers dry up and stamp duty rates increase in April, rising borrowing costs will suppress demand more noticeably from the second quarter of this year. As demand spreads into more affordable parts of the country, prices in these locations will remain relatively more buoyant.”