One borough in the North West saw property prices soar by 13 percent in the last year
House prices are on the rise across the UK, with one area in particular seeing property prices climb by 13 percent in the last year. The average house price increased by nearly five percent across the UK in the last 12 months, according to the latest figures from the Land Registry.
House prices went up to £268,000 in the UK in December 2024 after increasing by 4.6 percent over the course of the year, a rise of around £12,000.
The cost of buying your first home also increased last year. First-time buyers paid an average of £227,000 for their homes in 2024, which means they had to find an extra £10,000 compared to a year earlier.
Blackburn with Darwen has been named the property hotspot of 2024. The average home there cost £159,000 in 2024, which is one of the lowest of any council area in the UK. However, that average price of a home is 13.1 percent higher than a year ago, which means prices increased by a larger percentage than anywhere else in the UK.
Lisburn and Castlereagh had the next largest increase at 11.4 percent, followed by Inverclyde at 11.1 percent. The areas of Fermanagh and Omagh and Tewkesbury also rose by 11 percent.
Despite house prices generally rising across the country, 47 local authority areas saw the average cost of a home fall in the last year, compared to December 2023.
Kensington and Chelsea saw the largest drop in the country. The average home in the London borough cost £1.07 million in the last year, which was 22.9 percent lower than a year earlier.
Average house prices in the City of Westminster also fell by 22.2 percent down to £868,000, while in Hammersmith and Fulham, they fell by 10.5 percent to £752,000.
Top 10 UK areas with the biggest house price increases:
Blackburn with Darwen: 13.1%Lisburn and Castlereagh: 11.4%Inverclyde: 11.1%Fermanagh and Omagh: 11%Tewkesbury: 11%Harborough: 10.6%Bassetlaw: 10.5%Stirling: 10.5%Belfast: 10.3%Lichfield: 10.3%
Top 10 UK areas with the largest house price decreases:
Kensington and Chelsea: -22.9%City of Westminster: -22.2%Hammersmith and Fulham: -10.5%Wandsworth: -6.9%Islington: -5.8%Gwynedd: -5.2%Isle of Anglesey: -5.1%Worthing: -4.7%Thanet: -4.4%Eastbourne: -4.2%Hackney: -4.2%
Find out how much house prices have gone up in your local area: