Latest News » North South Divide
The North South property divide that looked to be closing has done a major u-turn. The gap had started to close within the last three years.
The gap was looking as though it was going to close buy the end of 2006, however research shows that the gap is now bigger than it was 10 years ago.
At the end of 2006 the average house price on the South was 1.6 times higher than that in the North. This is compared to a decade ago when house prices were 1.4 times higher.
This current result has reversed recent trends from 2003 – 2005 where the gap was narrowing year by year, to the effect where the gap no longer existed.
This is equally good and bad news for homeowners and homebuyers respectively. Homeowners get positive equity and homebuyers have a tough time trying to get a decent mortgage. The average house price went up by an estimated £7,500.
This puts the average house price up to £186,000. However the most surprising news is that the average house price in Northern Ireland is above that of the UK. The average house price in Northern Ireland is now an estimated £10,000 more than the UK average at £196,000.
London still remains at the top of the housing price list with an average house price of just under £290,000. The main increase according to sources came in the autumn months with an increase of 6.6%.
The North of England produced the smallest increase with just under 1%. This is to change in the coming years with continued investment from the EU.
Northern Ireland has achieved the highest rate of house price inflation in the last 10 year, with property prices up by 265% since 1996.
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