UK home values rose almost £1.4 billion per day in 2015

The UK’s 28.6 million homes grew in value by almost £1.4 billion per day in 2015 with Brentford, West Drayton and Thame seeing the largest increases, new research shows.

Brentford in London saw prices increase by 24% and West Drayton and Thame both by 17%, according to the data from property website Zoopla, while Wales saw the lowest prices gains at 2.2% over the last 12 months.

The figures show that homes are now worth a combined £7.76 trillion with the total value of residential properties up by 7.2% or £519 billion in 2015. This means that the average British property is now worth £290,827.

Home owners in London have seen the highest price growth in 2015 of any region, with an 11.8% annual uplift. The East of England follows closely with an 11.6% rise, up from 9.6% during 2014.

However, property owners in Wales and Scotland saw the lowest growth in house prices in the last 12 months, with values rising just 2.2% and 2.7% respectively.
 
London, Edinburgh, and Bristol were the top three most searched for locations by British house hunters on Zoopla in 2015. Northern areas also performed well, with Glasgow rising in the rankings, moving from sixth place in 2014 to fourth place this year, while Leeds broke into the top 10, coming in eighth.
 
Amongst the most popular keyword searches over the past year were ‘bungalow’, ‘cottage’ and ‘village’, with aspirational property also searchers for homes offering a ‘pool’ and a ‘sea view.’
 
‘Whilst the property market typically slows at this time of the year, prices have performed well in 2015, with some standout towns such as Brentford faring particularly well. Regions like East Anglia continue to boom as professionals and families seek out properties beyond the London commuter belt,’ said Lawrence Hall of Zoopla.

‘Even regions like Wales, where growth has typically been very incremental, have totalled respectable annual growth rates. Of course, to every silver lining there must be a cloud and the price rises we’re seeing do make it harder for those looking to take their first step onto the ladder,’ he pointed out.

‘But with Government Help to Buy schemes still in place and the promise of new homes to ease demand both buyers and sellers should have at least some reason to be upbeat as we go into 2016,’ he added.