York leads on house price rises

York saw the country’s biggest house price increases in 2022, data from Halifax shows, with prices in the city up 23% compared to a year ago and 41.9% higher than they were at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. The average price in the city has risen by about £70,000, passing the £300,000 mark. Other areas to see significant increases over the last 12 months include Woking, Surrey, at 19% and Chelmsford, Essex, (16.8%). Prices in the East Midlands towns of Kettering, Derby and Wellingborough all rose by between 15% and 16%, while Swansea was the highest riser in Wales, with prices up 17.5%. Leicester was the worst-performing area this year, with average prices dropping by 3.6%. Kim Kinnaird, director of mortgages at Halifax, said: “Overall 2022 was another year of rapid house price growth for most areas in the UK.” adding that “unlike many years in the past, the list isn’t dominated by towns and cities in the South East.” 

Daily Express (30/12/2022)   The Sun (30/12/2022)   The Times (30/12/2022)