Capital appreciation surge makes case for buy to let - agency chief

The capital appreciation of the past year proves that there’s no better investment than bricks and mortar, according to an agency chief.

In an exercise which may prove useful to letting agents advising potential new entrants to the private rental sector, Keller Williams UK has drawn up a league table of where in the UK has seen the largest house price increases in the past 12 months.

“Prices have climbed by 10 per cent across the UK which is a phenomenal rate of growth. While not all areas have performed as strongly in percentage terms, the differing price of property across the UK market means that the actual cash increase has been sizable, even in the worst-performing regions” explains Ben Taylor, chief executive of Keller Williams UK.

"On average, UK homeowners are over £23,000 better off than they were a year ago and this is proof, if ever it were needed, that there’s no better investment than bricks and mortar.”

His company has analysed Land Registry data and has found that the average UK homeowner has seen a cash boost of £23,116 in just 12 months, with the average UK house price climbing from £231,508 in May of last year, to £254,624 in May 2021 - the latest available data.

Regionally, the South East has seen the biggest increase in cash terms with the average home now worth £29,199 more than a year ago.

The latest UK House Price index shows that the North West has seen the largest rate of percentage annual growth of all regions at 15.2 per cent. No surprise then, that the region has also seen the second-largest cash increase in the last year at £24,987.

In contrast, London has seen the lowest rate of annual growth of all regions at 5.2 per cent, but the higher price of property in the capital means that London homeowners have enjoyed the third-highest cash increase at £24,987.

In finer detail - looking just at local authority level, below the regional analysis - parts of London have enjoyed by far the highest cash increase. 

Homeowners in Hammersmith and Fulham have seen the value of their home increase by £101,496 in the last year alone.

Outside of London, the average house price in Rutland has climbed by £88,625 in a year, with Oxford (£63,009), West Devon (£61,513) and Cotswolds (£60,825) also seeing values climb by more than £60,000.

Other locations in the top 10 include Elmbridge (£57,168), Mole Valley (£54,824), Derbyshire Dales (£52,181) and Three Rivers (£47,607).