Leave-voting areas record highest house price growth

House prices have increased the most in Leave-voting areas of the UK since the EU Referendum, research from Proportunity has found.

Castle Point (23%), Wellingborough (21.70%) and Thanet (21.60%) are leading the way, all of which are strong Leave areas.

Remain voting areas of London like Kensington (-3.20%), Westminster (0.10%) and Richmond (2.00%) have been sluggish.

Leave areas have seen 9.97% of average growth since 2016, while Remain areas have only grown by an average of 8.13%, although Remain areas typically had higher property prices to begin with.

Vadim Toader, chief executive and co-founder of Proportunity, said:

“While there may have been concerns that Leave-voting areas in England and Wales would be hardest hit by a drop in EU trade post-Brexit, their property markets have been outperforming Remain areas since the referendum result was announced.

“Obviously this isn’t purely down to Brexit, with local factors at play and Leave-majority districts typically being on the more affordable side to begin with.

“London, which is overrepresented in the ten worst performing areas, has its own specific issues. The top end of the market has been hit hard by stamp duty reforms while first-time buyers in the capital are struggling to get on the housing ladder in the capital thanks to the eye-wateringly high deposits required, with the high cost of living in London generally eating into their ability to save enough cash for a down payment.”

Only the Remain-majority London Borough of Newham (52.8% Remain) and the city of Manchester (60.4% Remain) were in the 10 best performing districts.

However, the 10 worst performing local authorities contained a more balanced mix, with five districts from each Brexit camp represented.

The London boroughs of Camden, Westminster, Richmond upon Thames and Kensington & Chelsea (all pro-Remain) sit in the bottom of the rankings alongside the leave-majority districts of Middlesborough, Eden, Allerdale, Preston and Hartlepool.

The only pro-Remain non-London borough in the bottom 10 was the Welsh county of Ceredigion.

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