Cities drive house price growth while suburbs ‘lag behind’ after surge in demand for city living

Cities have driven house price growth this year, leaving the suburbs lagging behind, according to research.

Since the start of the year, as people have gradually returned to the office, property prices across Britain’s cities have typically grown by 9.2 per cent, compared with 7.9 per cent growth on average in surrounding areas, Halifax said.

Andrew Asaam, mortgages director at Halifax, said a trend of people looking for greener spaces to move to, which was seen early on in the coronavirus pandemic, had remained.

He said: “That trend didn’t disappear completely this year, as house price growth in these areas remained strong.

“But, as daily life started to get back to normal for many, the opportunity to live in cities became more attractive again, driving up demand.

“There’s evidence of this in locations across the country, with property price inflation in the majority of cities outstripping increases in their surrounding areas.

“Clearly the economic environment has changed considerably in the last few months, with the likelihood of more significant downward pressure on house prices, as the cost-of-living squeeze and higher borrowing costs limit demand.

“The extent to which such trends will continue to shape the housing market is therefore uncertain.”

But some places have bucked the trend. In the surrounding areas of Birmingham, house prices have risen faster in percentage terms than in the city itself. This is reflected in places like Walsall, which has seen property price inflation of 16.4%, this year so far, according to Halifax.

And in the North East of England, Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough have recorded weaker house price growth this year so far than their surrounding areas.