The decade’s house price winners and losers

The UK property market is diverse and has many pockets of areas that perform above and below the national average when speaking in terms of house price appreciation.

New research from online trading platform, CMC Markets, looks at the areas of the UK that have seen the biggest and lowest increases in house prices during the past ten years.

The study analysed house price data from the Office for National Statistics for each local authority in the UK between 2012 and 2022 to discover which area saw the highest increase in house prices and therefore provides the highest return on investment.

According to the data, the City of Aberdeen is the UK area that has seen the lowest return on investment in property, being the only area where house prices have actually decreased. In 2012, the average house price in the City of Aberdeen was £160,525.51 but the average price has now decreased by 9.9% in the past ten years, with the average price costing £144,614.52 in 2022.

The UK area with the second lowest increase in house prices is Inverclyde. House prices in Inverclyde averaged £100,389 in 2012 and have risen to £115,244 as of this year. This means that there has been a 14.8% rise in prices – the second lowest number of any local authority analysed.

Aberdeenshire (the surrounding area of the city) has had the third-lowest increase in property prices in the last decade. There has been a 15.4% rise in house prices in the Scottish area in the past decade. In 2012, the average house price in Aberdeenshire was £173,885 whereas, in 2022, the average house price now stands at £200,590 according to the ONS data.

County Durham places fourth. House prices in County Durham have only risen by 25.1% since 2012 when house prices were at an average of £98,549 compared to today’s average price of £123,308

Middlesbrough rounds out the bottom five with Middlesbrough seeing a 25.7% rise in house prices. House prices in Middlesbrough have risen from £108,284.80 to £136,076 in the past ten years, leading to its status as the area with the fifth-lowest return on investment in property.

The 10 UK areas with the lowest increases in house prices:

1: City of Aberdeen
2: Inverclyde
3: Aberdeenshire
4: County Durham
5: Middlesborough
6: Allerdale
7: Stockton-on-Tees
8: Angus
9: Carlisle
10: Preston

At the other end of the scale, the analysis revealed that Waltham Forest in London has the biggest return on investment for property in the UK, with a 113.6% increase in house prices since 2012. Currently, the average house price in Waltham Forest is £484,229 whereas a decade ago, the average cost was £226,741.

The area with the second highest increase in property prices is Thanet in Kent. House prices in Thanet averaged at £142,273 in 2012 and have risen to £301,510 as of this year. This means that there has been a 111.9% rise in prices.

Barking and Dagenham is the area with the third highest rise in property in the UK, therefore having the third best return on investment. There has been a 105.9% rise in house prices in the London borough in the past decade. In 2012, the average house price in Barking and Dagenham was £165,049 whereas, in 2022, the average house price now stands at £340,135 according to the ONS data.

Hastings in East Sussex places fourth. House prices in Hastings have skyrocketed 96.8% since 2012 when house prices were at an average of £137,735 compared to today’s average price of £271,106.

Another London borough rounds out the top five with Hackney seeing a 96.5% rise in house prices. House prices in Hackney have risen from £315,619 to £620,147 in the past ten years, leading to its status as the area with the fifth-highest return on investment in property.