Controversial city is UK’s property hotspot, says agency

Liverpool - where commissioners have been ordered by Whitehall to run part of the council following corruption allegations - is the UK’s pandemic property hotspot.

That’s the view of the Andrew’s Property Group which says it’s analysis of Land Registry data shows Liverpool average house prices rising 16.7 per cent since March 2020.

Andrew’s says the top four property hotspots are all cities or towns in the North West - Liverpool (16.7 per cent), Oldham (15.7 per cent), Burnley (15.2 per cent), and Blackburn (14.2 per cent).

Nineteen UK towns and cities have seen double digit house price gains since March 2020, with prices up 13 per cent in Manchester.

Average property prices in London have only increased by 3.7 per cent over the same period, although price growth varies widely across boroughs - with average prices up 14.4 per cent in Haringey and 11.4 per cent in Brent, but down 6.5 per cent in the City of London and 5.0 per cent in the borough of Westminster.

Only four major UK towns have seen negative house price growth since March 2020 - Stratford-upon-Avon (-2.5 per cent), Cambridge (-1.7 per cent), Hartlepool (-0.7 per cent). and Gosport (-0.1 per cent).

Andrew’s Group chief executive David Westgate says: “Considering the economic and social challenges we’ve faced since the country went into national lockdown for the first time last March, the UK property market has proved itself to be extremely resilient in the face of adversity.

“The stamp duty holiday introduced in July has smoothed the bumps and helped fuel house price growth, turbo-charging the property market in the second half of 2020. We saw a buyer frenzy, with people looking to take advantage of stamp duty savings up to £15,000.

“That, coupled with continued low stock in many areas, has supported prices.”