Cambridge house prices 'up by 32%'
House prices in Cambridge have rebounded more strongly than those in London as the housing market recovery has taken hold, a report has found.
At £348,300 on average in September, property values in Cambridge have surged 32.5% higher than they were at their previous 2007 peak, while those in London sit at 29% above their pre-financial crisis high at £398,700 typically, according to property analyst Hometrack.
The findings were made as part of a new index produced by Hometrack which has charted price movements in 20 cities across the UK.
The study shows that property prices in Bristol, Oxford, Aberdeen, Portsmouth, Southampton and Bournemouth are also well above their pre-financial crisis peaks, while those in Cardiff are just teetering below their 2007 high.
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Other cities, such as Belfast, Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Glasgow still have some distance to climb before prices match their 2007 levels.
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14 of 20 cities see hikes
Over the past year, London, Cambridge and Bristol have seen the strongest uplifts in values out of the cities looked at, while Glasgow and Leicester have seen the lowest increases, according to the findings.
Fourteen out of the 20 cities looked at recorded year-on-year house price inflation which was below the average seen across the whole of the UK. Across the country generally, the typical house price has lifted by 9.0% or £15,300 over the last year to reach £184,580.
The average London house price has increased by 18.1%, or £61,000 in cash terms, over the year to September, while a home buyer in Cambridge would need to find 17.9% or £53,000 more than they would a year ago.
Meanwhile, the average Bristol property has added 14.1% or £26,900 onto its value over the last year.
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Glasgow recorded the smallest year-on-year percentage increase in prices of the 20 cities looked at, with property prices there lifting by 4.3% or £4,600 in cash terms to reach £109,200. Property values in Leicester have increased by 4.8% or £6,600 year-on-year to reach £141,400.
Hometrack said there is also evidence that the pace of house price growth in London is starting to slow down. London property values increased by 0.4% month-on-month in September, compared with a recent peak of 1.0% growth in April, which Hometrack said reflects "weaker demand" in the capital.
Yesterday, estate agent Foxtons reported a "sharp and recent slowing of volumes" in London property sales. Several recent reports have pointed to a cool down in the London market as buyers show signs of increasing caution towards price hikes amid expectations that interest rates will rise at some point next year.
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Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said that cities give a strong indication of the health of the housing market overall as they are the focus for employment, business growth and demand for homes.
He said that while house price growth has increased across all 20 cities looked at over the last year, "there is little evidence of a runaway surge in prices and the rate of growth appears to be moderating.
"The overall rate of UK house price growth has been significantly enhanced by London, so we are starting to see a corresponding dip in the rate of growth in the national figures as the rate of growth slows in London."
Here are the increases seen in house prices over the past year in 20 cities across the UK, with the increase in percentage and cash terms, the average house price, and the percentage that the current typical house price is above its 2007 peak according to Hometrack:
London, 18.1%, £61,100, £398,700, 29.2%
Cambridge, 17.9%, £53,000, £348,300, 32.4%
Bristol, 14.1%, £26,900, £217,600, 8.3%
Oxford, 10.5%, £32,100, £337,400, 20.7%
Portsmouth, 10.4%, £18,400, £194,800, 4.7%
Southampton, 9.9%, £17,100, £189,400, 3.6%
Bournemouth, 8.7%, £19,600, £242,800, 2.0%
Belfast, 8.3%, £8,800, £113,500, minus 50.7%
Cardiff, 8.0%, £13,200, £176,600, minus 0.6%
Nottingham, 7.7%, £9.100, £127,400, minus 3.8%
Newcastle, 7.0%, £8,200, £123,700, minus 9.2%
Manchester, 7.0%, £8,900, £136,500, minus 8.1%
Leeds, 6.8%, £8,900, £138,700, minus 10.2%
Edinburgh, 6.1%, £10,900, £188,000, minus 9.0%
Sheffield, 5.7%, £6,800, £125,500, minus 5.9%
Liverpool, 5.3%, £5,500, £109,200, minus 15.0%
Birmingham, 5.3%, £6,700, £132,100, minus 7.2%
Aberdeen, 5.3%, £9,500, £188,500, 11.5%
Leicester, 4.8%, £6,600, £141,400, minus 3.6%
Glasgow, 4.3%, £4,600, £109,200, minus 14.9%
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