North South divide exists for sales as well as prices

There is a well-known divide between North and South in Britain when it comes to property prices, now new research shows this is reflected in sales as well.

Indeed, the North/South divide is £102 billion in terms of property sales favouring the South, according to a study by sales agents Springbok Properties which shows that market uncertainty is hitting the more expensive regions in the South the hardest.

It examined the number of property transactions and the average house price across the North and South over the last year, multiplying the average house price in each region by the number of transactions to find the average amount of property sold.

The research shows that when it comes to transactions the South has been struggling, with total sales down by 7.3% year on year, compared to a fall of 3.3% in the North and 3.3% also in the Midlands and Wales.

When it comes to growth in the total value of sales, the South has seen an annual drop of 7% in the total value, compared to a drop of 1% in the North. The Midlands and Wales saw growth of 1% year on year.

However, when it comes to the actual value of the property sold, the South has higher prices so sale values have been higher with £138.37 billion worth of property sold in the last year. This compares with £37.79 billion in the Midlands and Wales and the North at £36.18 billion.

According to Shepherd Ncube, chief executive of Springbok Properties, there have been much stronger market performances across the Midlands and the North since the European Union referendum in 206 in terms of sales.

‘When it comes to the individual value of property, home owners in London and the South East have suffered far worse at the hands of market uncertainty. But the South is still some way ahead when it comes to the actual value of property being transacted and only marginally behind on transactional volume when compared to the North, Midlands and Wales as a whole,’ he said.