New figures published today by PrimeLocation show that overall prime property asking prices increased by 3.4% across Britain in first half of 2011.
But there has been a change in dynamics with these cities recording stronger growth than London in first six months of the year.
Sheffield saw a 10.6% price increase, Bristol was up 9.7%, Greater Manchester up 7.9% and Cardiff up 8.1%, all more than three times that of the capital, where prime asking prices increase by just 2.7%.
Of the areas covered by the Index, only Merseyside has recorded slower growth in the Prime segment than London with prices falling 0.8%.
According to the findings, asking prices within the top quartile of the property market across Britain grew by 0.5% in July, pushing the average Prime asking price up from £467,310 to £469,702.
Meanwhile, asking prices for Prime Platinum property, the top 10% of the market by value, grew by 0.6% month on month, boosting the average Prime Platinum asking price by £3,779, equivalent to £129 per day. This brings the average Prime Platinum asking price to £652,862.
The Prime and Prime Platinum markets continued to surpass the general UK property market in July, which only recorded growth of 0.03% to £220,937, an average increase of less than £2 per day. This is the third month in which the Prime markets have outperformed the general UK market.
‘Set against a maelstrom of bad economic news, the Prime property market in the UK has held steady during the first half of 2011. This is because, while many other property markets further down the property ladder struggle, Prime homes and particularly those in cities, continue to rise in value as supply outstrips demand,’ said Nigel Lewis, property analyst at PrimeLocation.
‘Asking prices in cities such as Sheffield, Bristol and Manchester have all rocketed in 2011, highlighting that demand for Prime property outside of the Capital is as strong as, if not stronger than, London,’ he added.
