Stoke-on-Trent and Slough see biggest house price boom in 2024

Stoke-on-Trent has seen the biggest rise in property prices in the last year, new data reveals.

During 2024, the average cost of a home in Stoke-on-Trent increased by more than £33,000, or 17.2 per cent, from £193,662 to £227,002.

Slough saw the second biggest rise, with average house prices rising almost 15 per cent or £64,510, to £497,704, according to Halifax.

This comes after the Berkshire town was recently labeled the unhappiest place to live in Britain.

Oldham saw the third biggest rise in price rises, with the average cost of a home rising from £218,595 in 2023 to £250,546 this year, representing an increase of more than £30,000 or 14.6 per cent.

Bradford, Bolton, Barnsley and Wolverhampton also made the top ten, the data shows.

In Bradford, the average cost of a home rose by more than £26,000, or 13.1 per cent, to £226,261 over the period.

Meanwhile, in Bolton, average property prices rose from £223,231 in 2023 to £252,070 this year, amid an increase of more than £28,800.

In Wolverhampton, the average cost of a home increased by 12.4 per cent or £30,680, from £247,403 to £278,083.

Amanda Bryden, Halifax mortgage director, said: “Some areas of the UK, including Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Dunfermline, have seen notable house price growth this year, as buyers may look to more affordable areas where housing prices, despite increases, are still below the national average.

“This trend is causing prices in some areas to go from slowing to growing, such as Stoke-on-Trent, which suffered the biggest fall last year, but showed the highest growth rate, regionally, this year.”

And he added: ‘That story does not develop at the national level. The high asking price of property in London means that house prices have fallen in several boroughs, perhaps a reflection that the relatively high cost of property is testing affordability for buyers, or perhaps what they are willing to pay.

“Overall, London has a house price to income ratio of 8.22, making it one of the least affordable places to live in the country, compared to a national ratio of 6.55.”

London dominates the lowest house price growth

Several London boroughs experienced some of the lowest house price growth during the period, including Ealing, Southwark and Harrow.

Locations in London comprised seven of the ten towns and cities with the lowest house price growth.

In Ealing, average property prices fell by £28,596, or 4.9 per cent, to £559,788. While prices have fallen in Ealing, they remain significantly higher than the national average.

In Southwark, the average cost of a home fell by 4.8 per cent, or £27,878, from £583,203 to £555,325.

While many locations in London featured heavily in the lowest house price growth rankings, Huddersfield saw the biggest drop.

The average cost of a property in Huddersfield fell 6.6 per cent, or £18,514, from £279,012 to £260,498.

Halifax said: “This needs to be seen in some important context: Huddersfield topped the table last year, with average house price growth of 8.7 per cent, meaning that, over the last two years, house prices of housing in the area have increased in general.

Meanwhile, homes in Wirral saw the second sharpest fall, falling by £16,753, or 5.4 per cent, from £311,003 to £294,250.

Fights in the southeast region

Regionally, the Southeast experienced the lowest percentage growth in house prices over the period.

Across the South East, average property prices rose by 1.8 per cent, or £7,947, to £448,456, up from £440,509.

In the east of England, the average cost of a home rose by 3.5 per cent or £13,891 to £406,888.

Northern Ireland saw the biggest increase in average property prices, which rose from £203,724 to £225,272. This represented an increase of £21,547, or 10.6 per cent.

Average property prices in Yorkshire, the Humber and the West Midlands also rose by more than £15,000 in the period.

In Scotland, average house prices increased by £13,733, or 5.9 per cent, to £247,094. Meanwhile, in Wales, the average cost of a home increased by £13,569 or 5.6 per cent, from £241,628 to £255,197.

Bryden said: “Regionally, while the South East has seen solid growth, places like Basingstoke and Maidstone generally lag behind the rest of the UK, moving just +1.8 per cent, in compared to +6.3 percent.” for the UK as a whole.

“As in London, first-time buyers will not find a bargain here, as slow growth is likely a consequence of already high property prices, relative to the national average.”

He added: “There is a lot to consider when buying a home; it can be overwhelming, and the cost of ownership is just one of many things to think about.”

“My advice would be to make a list of everything that’s important to you, decide which are the deal-breakers and which ones you’re willing to compromise on, and then focus on viewing homes and visiting areas to get a feel for each place.

“Be open to anything that’s affordable and suits your personal circumstances – you never know where you might find a hidden gem that’s right for you.”

Will changes to stamp duty affect the market?

Stamp duty thresholds – the levels at which buyers start paying tax on property purchases – will fall in spring 2025.

Second home purchases already incurred the new higher surcharge as of October 31, 2024.

The stamp duty cuts were introduced in the Kwasi Kwarteng mini-budget in September 2022 and were intended to be permanent.

However, in the autumn budget just two months later, Jeremy Hunt announced that the property tax holiday would instead be a long holiday.

Therefore, on 1 April 2025, stamp duty thresholds will return to lower levels.

Interest rates are expected to continue to slowly fall, which could help borrowers looking for a mortgage. However, upcoming changes to the stamp duty threshold are already putting pressure on first-time buyers racing to complete before April.

It remains to be seen how changes to stamp duty and interest rates will affect the property market in 2025.