House prices are constantly changing, and if you’re interested in investing in property in a specific UK region such as London, then analysing a house-pricing graph (just like the one shown below) to understand the growth a particular area is a worthwhile exercise.

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This particular graph showcases London trending house prices in red, against that of real house prices in blue. Since 1975, UK house prices have risen by 101%, whilst London house prices have risen by 124%. During the housing bubble of the 1980’s, London prices were 5.8 times higher than the average earnings. However, on the eve of the credit card crunch this figure dropped to 5.4 times.

In the early 1990’s house prices dropped and then plateaued slightly. It seems that this may be happening again, especially as market dislocations including that of emergency interest rates and restricted mortgages are appearing. However, whether this drop will continue, plateau or start to rise again is yet to be seen.

Average Property Selling Prices in London 2000 – 2013

These particular graphs, below, showcase the average property sale prices for various property styles in London for each month, ranging from April 2000 to August 2013. The latter graph reveals the median property sale price, and is a perfect example trending house prices.

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The above graph showcases the moving average by property type in London. Below is a key to illustrate these changes in further detail.

April 2000 August 2013 Change Detached £485,621 £1,196,432 +146% Semi £257,041 £729,290 +184% Terraced £241,381 £647,325 +168% Flat £206,392 £437,684 +112% All £232,311 £553,212 +138%

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April 2000 August 2013 Change Detached £355,000 £814,050 +129% Semi £190,000 £473,975 +149% Terraced £156,500 £428,250 +174% Flat £164,997 £329,800 +100%

Listed below is a further example of property sales in the London area. The sold prices for London were calculated using details provided by the Land Registry, and shows an average overall of all properties sold within 10 miles of the city centre.

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April 2000 August 2013 Change Detached 257 190 -26% Semi 949 732 -23% Terraced 2460 1978 -20% Flat 4278 3788 -11%

House Price Growth in London 2012 – 2013

In the last two years alone, it seems that the housing market in London is again starting to showcase increasing prices which is being exacerbated by the continued lack of stock causing pent up demand from property buyers.

For example, a one-bedroom house in October 2012 would have been valued in the region of £313,473. In October 2013, the same house has been valued at £358,090 revealing a 14.2% growth.

The same has been seen for a two-bedroom house, which has risen from £464,182 to a total of £516,569, showing a growth of 11.2%. Three bedroom houses however have dropped from £746,924 to £695,783 revealing a growth decrease of -6.8%. Four bedroom houses have increased slightly with a 10.6% growth, advancing from £1,060,008 to £1,173,174. This shows that smaller, singles-orientated housing is possibly a better investment option when considering London.

Remember, this is average data recorded by HM Land Registry. Estate agents report very different figures, and growth rates in London Boroughs have been reported as high as 30% in Wandsworth for example.



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London House Prices Rise more than 10%

Property experts have reveals that official figures have showcased the housing market to be a lot stronger than it once was, and January 2014 is reputedly the strongest January in recent property history.

House prices have jumped 9.4%, which has pushed the average UK property value up to 3.8%.

First time buyers were paying 5.3% higher on average this September than they were last September, which further emphasises this steady rise. Both Britons and overseas investors have fuelled these rising prices, the latter market have been especially helpful in increasing luxury residential property prices in London this year alone.

The rising prices in London have certainly helped to increase prices across the UK, all of which are continuing to grow at a steady rate. This September we saw the highest year-on-year change since October 2010. While nothing is ever certain in the UK housing market, what these figures do show is that, for those willing to take the risk, buying now could pay off big long-term.