Manchester house price growth is trailing the wider North West despite the region remaining one of the stronger-performing parts of the UK housing market.
New analysis from UK Property News highlights a widening gap between the performance of Manchester and its surrounding region, reinforcing the importance of looking beyond national house price averages.
Zoopla’s September House Price Index puts annual North West house price growth at 3.1%, compared with 0.8% nationally. Separate ONS figures cited in the analysis show the average Manchester house price at £252,000, with annual growth of 1.2%.
That compares with growth of 4.4% across the wider North West in the latest regional data cited by UK Property News.
LOCAL DIFFERENCES
The figures suggest some of the stronger price growth in the North West is now occurring outside Manchester itself.
This comes despite Manchester’s significant longer-term performance following two decades of regeneration and economic development.
UK Property News calculates that since 2005 Manchester has recorded average annual house price growth of around 4.7%, compared with approximately 3.2% across the UK, England and wider North West over the longer term.
LANDLORD DECISIONS
Property analyst Kate Faulkner OBE says the differences demonstrate why buyers, sellers and landlords need to consider local market conditions rather than relying on headline national or regional figures.
She says: “The difference in house price growth between the North West as a region and Manchester is a clear example of why property price averages don’t tell the full story.
“For buyers and sellers, relying on a national or even regional average can give a very different picture from what is actually happening to prices in their local area.
“For landlords and investors, understanding those local differences is even more important when assessing property values, rental demand and potential returns.”
The analysis comes ahead of the National Landlord Investment Show in Manchester on 14 October, where Faulkner will be among the speakers discussing the outlook for landlords and the wider housing market.
