The North of England continues to out-perform property anywhere else in the UK, according to data from both the government and major property portals. What’s more, it doesn’t look there will be any change for some time to come. 

The most recent figures from the HM Land Registry House Price Index showed property in the north-west has risen by 12%. In the north-east the rise was 8.9%, which is slightly less than Yorkshire and the Humber at 8.9%. Property in London rose 5.3% – this is despite the fact there was an exodus in the capital during lockdown as many city dwellers looked for property in the country. At the same time thousands of foreign nationals returned home due to both the pandemic and Brexit restrictions.

Zoopla recorded Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds as the cities with the highest growth in property values at 6.6%, 6.5% and 5.4% respectively. Of their top 10 performing cities, only one has an annual property price of more than £200,000. This means buyers in these cities will benefit from the Stamp Duty Holiday for longer. That’s because the tapering effect after June means buyers of properties valued at £250,000 or less still won’t have to pay any Stamp Duty.

Property sells faster in Wigan

The north-west reigns supreme for fastest selling properties too. According to data from Zoopla, a property in Wigan takes just 26 days to sell (from listing to sold subject to contract). Salford in Manchester together with Redditch near Birmingham, Knowsley in Lancashire, Sheffield and Medway in the south-east are all second equal with a record of 27 days to sell. Property in Liverpool takes 30 days to sell, in Manchester it’s 32 days and in Bristol property sales are concluded within an average of 33 days.

In Wigan the most popular category of property was detached three-beds in the £100,00 to £150,000 price category.

A Zoopla spokesman, said: “With lower property prices than Manchester and great transport links, it’s easy to see why houses in nearby Wigan and Salford are proving popular.

“The search for space is also playing a role, with the pandemic influencing what home hunters are searching for and a new importance placed on features like additional bedrooms and gardens.”

A forecast by upmarket estate agent Savills recently insists the north-west, together with Yorkshire and the Humber will remain the most buoyant areas for UK property for the next five years. They expect to see growth of 6% in both regions next year and 5.5% by 2023. In 2025 they predict that growth to be around 4.5% (with the north-west having gained slightly in 2024). What this means is that Savills predict house price growth in the north-west region to be 28.8% over the next five years and 28.2% in Yorkshire and the Humber. 

As a result of such growth, together with more regeneration taking place in the north of the country, it’s expected that the difference in property value between the north and south will start to gradually narrow over the first half of this decade.