Zoopla: House prices aren’t dropping everywhere 

More than a third of homes have declined in value over the past six months, Zoopla data shows.

It comes despite the total value of the UK’s housing stock hitting  £10.7trillion as of May. 

The London housing market alone sits at £2.5 trillion which is equivalent to the Midlands, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland combined.  

Set against a tumultuous market of higher mortgage pricing and rising interest rates, 66% of homeowners have still seen their homes increase in value by at least 1% over the past 12 months, Zoopla said.

This means these homes have increased on average by £7,000, or £19 per day.

But it’s not all positive news as 11.1m homes have fallen in value by at least 1% in the past six months, or an average reduction of £7,700 – equating to 38% of the UK’s housing stock.

The portal highlights that a pick up in market activity during the first quarter of 2023 has supported a reversal of some losses with the average UK home increasing in value by £342 in the past three months.

The analysis is compiled using Zoopla’s My Home tool that lets homeowners track the value of their property and see whether prices are going up or down over time 

Some four out of 10 homeowners in Northern England, Wales and the Midlands saw the value of their homes increase in the past six months, Zoopla said.

Just over a fifth of homes in London, the South East and Eastern region increased in value within the same period.

Despite almost 9.2m homes increasing in value over the past six months, the top 10 areas with the highest proportion of homes going up in value are concentrated in the North and Midlands. Only one postal area is located in the South - Dorchester  - where 46,000 homes have increased in value since November 2022.

Homeowners located in Yorkshire and the Humber are disproportionately represented with four postal areas seeing increases in value: Halifax, Wakefield, Huddersfield and Bradford, Zoopla said.

The highest concentration of homes falling in value over the past six months are predominantly coastal locations across the South of England. 
These locations recorded a rush of buyers since 2020, pushing prices higher as people relocated or looked to commute longer distances to work. Zoopla data shows more than 50% of homes falling in value in these areas as demand cools. 

Commenting on the analysis, Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: “With a value of £10.7 trillion the housing market is a huge part of the nation’s wealth. Everyone’s home has its own value and trajectory of how that value is changing over time. 

“While the headlines report that UK house prices have been falling, our analysis finds that there is more of an even split between homes with price gains and price falls over the last six months when looking at trends on a property level. 

“The value a homeowner can get for their home unlocks the options for their next move or impacts how good a rate they might get when they remortgage. More and more homeowners are tracking homes month by month to better understand their most valuable asset and how to make the right decision around their home."