The Outer Hebrides tops list of UK’s house price hotspots over the past five years

New analysis of the latest official ONS figures has revealed that Na h-Eileanan Siar in Scotland, also known as the Outer Hebrides, has had the UK’s biggest increase in average house price in the past five years.

Highlights of analysis:

• Na h-Eileanan Siar has seen average house prices increase by 51% compared to 2016 
• Newport in Wales is second highest on the list, followed by Salford and Leicester 
• City of Aberdeen and Hammersmith and Fulham have seen biggest drops in value 

The study by debt specialists IVA Advice found that the average price of a house there in February 2021 was £132,397, compared to £87,494 in February 2016, representing an increase of 51.32%.

Despite the increase the average house price in Na h-Eileanan Siar is still among the 30 lowest price areas in the UK, and more than £100,000 lower than the UK average house cost.

In second place was Newport in Wales, where the average price has jumped by 46.9% in comparison to five years ago. The average in February 2016 was £142,820, while in February this year it stood at £211,332.

Salford has seen the third highest increase in average house prices over the past five years, with 44%. This February the average cost of a home stood at £186,600, whereas in 2016, house hunters could expect to pay £129,563.

The UK’s property price hotspots over the past five years, by IVA Advice 

Alongside average house price increases, the IVA Advice study also investigated drops in value, with the City of Aberdeen seeing the biggest reduction compared to five years ago. In February 2016, the average house price in the city was £195,492, but it has since fallen by 19.88% to £142,874.

Hammersmith and Fulham in London has seen the second biggest drop of 14.65%. The average house price in February 2021 was £659,864, but in 2016 it was £773,192.

Overall out of more than 400 areas included in the analysis, just eight areas had a drop in average house price compared to February 2016.

Five of them were London boroughs: Hammersmith and Fulham, Camden (0.56% decrease), Tower Hamlets (1.03% decrease), Kensington and Chelsea (5.72% decrease), City of London (11.79%).

The average house price in Hyndburn in Lancashire dropped by 1.6% to £92,173, compared to £93,683 in February 2016. That makes the borough the home of the cheapest average house price in the UK, and alongside Burnley, where the average house price is £95,371, the only places in the UK where the average house costs less than £100,000.

Across the UK, the average house price in February 2016 was £205,555, while the latest figures stand at £250,340 – an increase of 21.78%.

Comparing the four nations of the UK, Wales has seen the biggest increase in average house price over the past five years – 26% – going from £142,711 in 2016, to £179,860 in 2021.

Northern Ireland isn’t far behind, showing a 24.18% increase, with the average price rising from £118,850 to £147,592.

England’s average house price has gone from £220,626, to £268,291 – an increase of 21.6%.

Scotland has seen the lowest rise, 19.98%, as the average cost of a house in 2016 was £134,625, compared to £161,529 now.

The research was carried out by IVA Advice, which provides free, qualified advice to help people solve their debt problems for good. Its team of experienced experts help ensure that anyone who has problems with debt is able to reclaim financial control.

Kindly shared by IVA Advice