At our last end of month meeting Emma came up with a game where we were given a photo of a property and its location in the UK and we had to guess the value. These properties ranged from a 1 bed flat in Knightsbridge, London which was on the market for £1,275,000, to a 5 bedroom detached house in East Riding, Yorkshire which was on the market for £325,000. Before I played the game I knew that there was a difference in prices across the UK but hadn’t realised to quite what extent.
5 bedroom detached house in Yorkshire, recently on the market for £325,000
I bedroom flat in Knightsbridge, recently on the market for £1,275,000
I find it fascinating that you can drive a couple of hours up the M1 and the cost of living dramatically changes, however, saying this you pay for location. Watford is a perfect example of this is due to the fantastic transport links it benefits from. You are able to get a train into the centre of London in 20 minutes and have easy access to the M25 and M1 motorways, which is a benefit people are willing to pay a premium for.
I looked at the Rightmove Trendometer where you can see the difference in house prices over the last few years in different counties across the UK. For example the average asking price in Cumbria in October 2013 was £185,079 whereas the average in October 2015 was £195,109, a rise of 5.4%. Prices have risen all across the UK, however, when you look at the same information for Hertfordshire the percentage increase is much higher than in Cumbria. In October 2013 the average asking price in Hertfordshire was £378,013 and in October 2015 was £454,083, a rise of 20.1%!
Based on this, what do you think your home is worth now? Give us a call on 01923 252505 to book a free valuation today!
Olivia Gascoine
Property Consultant