House price rises: Areas with biggest gains in 2022

The towns and cities with the strongest house price growth saw average property values rise by more than £50,000 in the past year, data has revealed.

The figures from Halifax suggested that average values had increased 15.2 per cent in the 12 months to November. However, there are large regional differences.

York leads the way with the highest property price inflation of any town or city in England and Wales during 2022, growing by 23.1 per cent during this period, the equivalent of a significant £69,648.

Average house prices in the historic city have risen by 41.9 per cent since March 2020, from £261,183 to £370,639 – an increase of £109,457.

York has seen the highest house price growth in the past year – increasing 23.1%

The towns and cities with the strongest house price growth have been revealed by Halifax

Woking, with its good links to central London, saw the biggest increase of any town or city in cash terms in 2022.

The cost of buying a home rose 19 per cent, from £493,299 in November 2021 to £586,925 last month.

Big gains: Swansea (pictured) is among the towns and cities with the highest house price growth in the past year

House prices in London have increased at a slower pace than other parts of the UK, up 7.2 per cent during the 12 months to November.

However, prices in the capital are still comfortably the most expensive in the country at £596,667.

No London boroughs appeared in the top growth areas for year-on-year house price increases.

The popular residential district of Islington saw a rise of only 0.4 per cent in the year, among the lowest in England and Wales. However, properties in the area still had a large average price tag of £712,843.

Properties in Chelmsford, Essex (pictured) increased in value by £69,775 in year to November

In Surrey, homes in Woking (pictured) increased in value by 19% over the past 12 months

Kim Kinnaird, of Halifax, said: ‘Overall 2022 was another year of rapid house price growth for most areas in the UK. And unlike many years in the past, the list isn’t dominated by towns and cities in the south east.

‘Nowhere is that more the case than in the cathedral city of York, which saw the highest property price inflation across England and Wales this year, rising by over a fifth. While existing homeowners will welcome the increased value of their home, such a jump makes it much more challenging for those looking to step onto the property ladder or move into the city.

‘While London still has some of the highest property prices in the country, it recorded comparatively modest house price inflation over the last 12 months. This is partly due to pandemic-driven shifts in housing preferences as buyers sought bigger properties further from urban centres.

‘We can see this clearly in commuter towns such as Woking, Chelmsford and Hove, which – with their more diverse range of properties perhaps offering better value – recorded much bigger increases over the last year.’

Swansea recorded the highest rate of house price growth of any town or city across Wales, increasing 17.5 per cent, the equivalent of £39,450.

Across Wales, prices were up by 8.7 per cent, or £20,669, during the last year.

Towns and cities in both East and West Midlands also saw significant growth, including Kettering, where values rose 15.9 per cent to £326,895.  

Derby is also up 15.8 per cent to £277,491, Wellingborough is up 15.5 per cent to £306,985, and in Birmingham values have increased 13.8 per cent to £269,385.

Halifax said the housing market has seen some of the biggest house price increases on record during the last few years, rising by 26 per cent or £80,777 between March 2020 and November 2022.

North London estate agent Jeremy Leaf said: ‘This confirms what we’ve been seeing on the ground – that the “race for space” is nearing its end as Covid restrictions are hopefully long behind us, while worries about the rising cost of living persist. 

‘The legacy of the pandemic lives on. The search for value seems to have taken over from the race for space as part of longer-term changes in the housing market. 

‘The lifestyle attractions of towns and cities with good transport links, not just in the South East as previously, remains undiminished now increasingly flexible work and leisure arrangements are becoming more regularised. 

‘Looking forward, we see this pattern continuing with no sharp falls or rises in price or activity as we settle into a new ‘normal’ and affordability reigns’.