Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
The price of a new home in the UK has increased for six consecutive months, and has risen by 0.2% since the beginning of the year according to a property price index from SmartNewHomes. The average asking price of a new property is £229,938, which is the highest since October 2008, and is a 4.7% increase on the same time last year, equating to a rise of £10,226.
UK home prices spiralling upwards © Jezper - Fotolia.com
Over the past few months prices of new homes have shown steady growth in contrast with the fluctuating real estate market in the rest of the UK. In spite of these increases the average cost of a previously owned property is still £3,854 more than a new property.
The price index looked at 11 different regions, and 10 showed positive growth in February with only the South West showing an annual price decline of 3.9%. In contrast the price of new homes in Greater London has risen by 11% to reach an average of £217,839. New homes in the South East rose by the same percentage, pushing the average price up to £350,088. New homes in the West Midlands saw an even greater annual price growth of 17%, and the average new home now costs £205,107. New houses is in East Anglia have increased by 7.3% year-on-year, while prices in Yorkshire and Humber have risen by 6.7%. Prices in the North West have increased by 4.7%, by 4.5% in the North East, by 3.1% in Scotland, and by 2.9% in Wales.
According to the article in Property Community, there are also more new homes are coming onto the market, as the number has increased for three consecutive months to February. It's expected that the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which came into effect last month will simplify the U.K.'s planning laws, and should mean more new homes will become available in the near future. The introduction of the NPPF should mean more new homes will be built in areas facing the greatest shortages of housing.
