London boroughs generally saw the lowest house price growth this past year, with most of the biggest rises coming north of the Watford Gap, in places such as Stoke-on-Trent, Oldham and Bradford.
Research from lender Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY), found that Yorkshire and the Humber was the region with the strongest house price increases in England, followed by the West Midlands, up 6.4% and 6.3% respectively. For the whole of the UK, Northern Ireland had the strongest growth, of 10.6%.
House prices in Stoke jumped 17.2% after showing the biggest fall the previous year, while in Oldham they leapt 14.6% and in Bradford 13.1%.
Meanwhile, the south-east of England had the smallest percentage growth in average house prices in the 12 months to September, of 1.8%, with the boroughs of Ealing, Southwark, Enfield, Harrow and Westminster among the 10 worst areas, and Greater London and the south east areas Bromley, Kingston Upon Thames, Aylesbury and Slough also in that list, all with house prices falling in the period.
There were notable regional exceptions though, as Huddersfield and The Wirral saw the biggest falls in average house prices, down 6.6% and 5.4% respectively.
Huddersfield topped the house price growth table in 2023 with an increase of 8.7%, but over two years prices in the area have risen slightly.
Slough, just west of London and now connected to the Elizabeth Line, saw a rise of 14.9% in the cost of a home, with Halifax research finding that it was a popular area for first-time buyers, with 73% of purchases made by those taking their first steps on the property ladder.
Amanda Bryden, Halifax's head of mortgages, said the growth of prices in areas such as Stoke, Wolverhampton and Dunfermline were "as buyers perhaps seek out more affordable areas where house prices, despite increases, are still coming in under the national average".
She said the trend is causing house prices in some areas "to flip from slowing to growing", such as Stoke, but that story doesn’t play out nationally.
"The high asking price for London properties means house prices have fallen in several boroughs - perhaps a reflection that the relatively high cost of properties is stretching affordability for buyers, or perhaps what they are willing to pay."
She noted that London has a house price-to-wages ratio of 8.22, making it one of the least affordable places to live in the country, against a national ratio of 6.55.
Across the South East, there was more robust growth in places outside the fringes of the capital, like Slough, Basingstoke and Maidstone.
"Much like London, first-time buyers won’t find a bargain [in the South East], as the slow growth is likely a consequence of the already-high property prices, relative to the national average."