House prices surge in UK regions while London growth lags behind

Stoke-on-Trent notched up the biggest growth in house prices this year as buyers sought out more affordable locations, but Huddersfield and many London boroughs saw values fall, a lender has said.

Halifax unveiled its list of the biggest UK regional house price risers and fallers, with Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire taking the top spot with a 17.2 per cent jump to an average of £227,002 in the 12 months to September 2024.

This marked a turnaround after the city was the biggest faller in 2023.

It was followed closely by Slough in Berkshire with a 14.9 per cent surge in prices to an average of £497,704, and Oldham in Greater Manchester, which enjoyed a 14.6 per cent leap to £250,546, according to the Halifax data.

Some areas of the UK… have seen remarkable house price growth this year, as buyers perhaps seek out more affordable areas

Amanda Bryden, Halifax head of mortgages

In a similar reversal of fortunes, Huddersfield in West Yorkshire lost its place at the top of the growth league last year to slip to the bottom in 2024, with prices down by 6.6 per cent on average to £260,498.

It was a similar picture in Wirral, Merseyside, where prices dropped 5.4 per cent to an average of £294,250.

London dominated the fallers board, with a raft of boroughs across the capital seeing declines as affordability was put under pressure by high prices.

Amanda Bryden, 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.”

She added: “The high asking price for London 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 perhaps what they are willing to pay.”

The past year has seen interest rates cut twice, in August and November, to end 2024 at 4.75 per cent, but buyers are still struggling with affordability as borrowing costs remain high and amid other cost-of-living pressures.

The research from Halifax showed that regionally, the South East of England had the slowest price growth, at 1.8 per cent, while Northern Ireland was top of the table with 10.6 per cent, followed by Yorkshire and The Humber at 6.4 per cent.

London prices rose overall despite falls across a number of boroughs, up 3.6 per cent in the year.

Ten towns and cities with greatest price growth (2023 to 2024)

Area	Region	2023 price	2024 price	Growth
Stoke-On-Trent	West Midlands	£193,662	£227,002	17.2%
Slough	South East	£433,194	£497,704	14.9%
Oldham	North West	£218,595	£250,546	14.6%
Bradford	Yorkshire	£200,093	£226,261	13.1%
Bolton	North West	£223,231	£252,070	12.9%
Barnsley	Yorkshire	£199,725	£224,886	12.6%
Wolverhampton	West Midlands	£247,403	£278,083	12.4%
Doncaster	Yorkshire	£204,371	£228,040	11.6%
Dunfermline	Scotland	£208,013	£230,379	10.8%
Hamilton	Scotland	£208,360	£229,835	10.3%

Here are the top 10 biggest fallers

Area	Region	2023 price	2024 price	Growth
Huddersfield	Yorkshire	£279,012	£260,498	-6.6%
Wirral	North West	£311,003	£294,250	-5.4%
Ealing	London		£559,788	-4.9%
Southwark	London		£555,325	-4.8%
Kingston Upon Thames	London		£582,282	-4.2%
Enfield	London		£506,667	-4.0%
Harrow	London		£552,203	-3.6%
Westminster	London		£730,859	-3.5%
Bromley	London		£541,131	-3.2%
Aylesbury	South East		£541,131	-2.8%

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House prices surge in UK regions while London growth lags behind

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House prices surge in UK regions while London growth lags behind

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