Housing Market shows real signs of strength

Half of all UK homes have increased in value in the first half of 2024 by 1% or more, says Zoopla.

This is the highest amount of homes to have increased in a six month period since December 2022.

Since New Year the average home has increased by £2,400 to £278,000.

A third of all UK homes (equivalent to 10m) have increased by £5,000 or more in the last six months whilst 8m homes (27%) have also kept their value stable.

By contrast some 6.7m homes have seen their value fall by at least 1% in the same period.

Homeowners in Oldham (83%), Wakefield (77%) and County Durham were most likely to see the value of their homes increase in value by 1% or more since the start of 2024.

It’s homes valued below £150,000 that register higher value growth (5%+) in the northern regions. Owners of terraced homes, in particular, are seeing more gains than owners of other property types as nearly a fifth of terraces went up in value by 5% or more since the beginning of 2024.

These increases are driven by the popularity of value-for-money homes amongst buyers facing higher mortgage costs.

But in southern England, where high mortgage rates have impacted affordability, Zoopla finds the top 10% of the most expensive homes saw more gains than cheaper or average priced homes. In areas such as West-Central London, Watford and Bath, seven in 10 homes have increased by at least £5,000 or more since the start of the year.

Areas with most homes increasing in value in January to June 2024:

Postal area	Average value	Average 6 months value change %	Average 6 months value change £	% of homes up in value (by 1%+)
Oldham	£176,400	3.9	£7,100	83
Wakefield	£183,400	2.9	£4,700	77
Durham	£130,500	4.2	£4,700	76
West Central London	£888,300	2.2	£17,700	72
Darlington	£156,800	3.1	£4,400	71
Watford	£497,000	2.3	£10,900	70
Bradford	£171,300	2.7	£4,500	69
Stoke on Trent	£191,000	2.6	£4,600	69
Wigan	£168,900	2.6	£3,900	69
Bath	£333,500	2.0	£6,300	68

Areas with most homes reducing in value in January to June 2024:

Postal area	Average value	Average 6 months value change %	Average 6 months value change £	% of homes falling in value (by 1%+)
Dumfries	£142,800	-1.7	-£2,100	54
St Albans	£519,100	-1	-£4,500	49
Dorchester	£340,100	-0.6	-£1,500	44
Colchester	£314,900	-0.6	-£1,700	44
Ipswich	£295,200	-0.6	-£1,600	41
Milton Keynes	£338,800	-0.5	-£1,800	42
Harrogate	£325,300	-0.5	-£1,400	42
Exeter	£324,600	-0.5	-£1,600	41
Norwich	£276,300	-0.2	-£400	37
Perth	£206,700	-0.1	-£200	44