Concern as house prices in Wales buck post-Brexit slowdown trend with 20% growth

House prices in Wales have bucked the post-Brexit trend and grown faster than they did before the UK voted to leave the EU, according to new figures.

The rate of house prices across the UK has been -14.19% slower since the EU referendum than in the same period prior to the June 2016 vote. The slowdown has been as much as -17.48% in England and -57.97% in London.

In Wales, however, house price growth has accelerated from 16.0% to 20.3%, a 4.24% increase in the rate of house price growth. The average house price was £146,353 in July 2016 and is £175,998 today.

The CEO of national estate agent Keller Williams said a slowdown in house prices in most areas of the UK was good news for those looking to buy their first property.

However “this won’t have addressed the outright issue of affordability that many face when trying to get a foot on the ladder”.

 

‘Die out’

The accelerated growth in Wales will concern those who see people being priced out of their own communities.

There have been concerns that Covid-19 could exacerbate the problem as more people who want to work from home move away from large urban areas, driving house prices up further.

Last month Adra chief executive Ffrancon Williams told North Wales Live that Covid had “amplified” the problem.

“The number of purchases of second homes has increased, there is no doubt about it. We can’t do nothing, this impacts on our communities and the Welsh language.

“If people cannot live in their community and have to move away then the language dies out. Doing nothing is not an option.

“There is also an issue with things like Airbnb, tourism needs to be seen as something that benefits an area and is not detrimental.”