It is never easy to freeze-frame trends in property transactions or house prices, but Savills Research has attempted to do so by analysing Land Registry figures for local authorities in England and Wales. Price rises can be detected in six waves rippling out from the capital, with the weakest in the North and North East. But the recovery has also leapfrogged to particular cities, including Bath, Bristol, York and Manchester.
3 Up 15-20 per cent: Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Southend-on-Sea, South Gloucestershire, Poole, Dorset
The newcomer is Southend, which began to motor over a year ago. The Halifax found it was the fastest growing area in the country. It is awash with inward investment, highly commutable and pepped up by the revamped airport.
“This is growth off a lower base than the other areas,” says Mike Gray of Dedman Gray. “People are suddenly recognising it and realising that it is lovely seaside so close to London. It is 38 miles away, but then it always has been.”
