New towns boast stronger house price performances

New research reveals how ‘new’ towns are seeing a stronger property market performance than longer established, historic towns. 

Estate and letting agent Barrows and Forrester analysed current market values and annual growth across 15 major historic towns and cities and 15 new towns, built post 1946. 

The average house price in UK historic towns and cities has grown by 10.6% since the previous year, but new towns have seen an even greater growth of 11.4%.

Homes in these areas are priced at an average of £293,971 compared to a lower average of £258,844 in older towns.

James Forrester, Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, commented: ‘Whether you prefer the fresher face of a newer town or city, or the appeal of a more historic market make up, the vast and varied diversity of the UK property market means there’s a home to suit all tastes, at varying levels of market affordability. 

‘However, when it comes to overall property market performance, it’s those locations that have been built and developed in the last 76 years that just edge it ahead of their more historic counterparts. 

‘This makes sense given the fact that building restrictions aren’t as strict as they might be in the likes of Oxford or Bath, with the ability to deliver a greater deal of new-build homes not only leading to a higher average price, but also causing prices to increase at a faster pace.’

Telford and Harlow were found to be the joint best performing new towns, since both saw big increases in annual growth of 15.1% in the last year alone.

Milton Keynes was ranked next, seeing growth of 14.9%, while Corby in North Northamptonshire saw house prices grow by 14.5%.

The most affordable new town is Runcorn, with average house prices of £178,034, whereas Hemel Hempstead is the most expensive with homes coming with a price tag of £441,755.

The study also discovered that Bath is the historic city which saw the biggest annual increase, up by 14.3% from the previous year.

Homes in Durham are the cheapest, at average prices of £122,818, while Oxford tops the list as the most expensive historic city, since homes cost £471,179 on average.

Photo by Paul Silvan