House price drops since September 2022’s disastrous mini-budget have seen property in the worst hit areas slashed by more than £315,000, according to House Buyer Bureau data.
Former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng sent an already fragile UK economy into turmoil with his so-called Growth Plan last autumn. Against a backdrop of rising inflation and interest rates, many high street mortgage providers pulled their products from the market, causing the property sector to stall after a lengthy period of remarkable growth.
Since then, numerous house price indices, from the Land Registry to Nationwide and Halifax, have shown that the rate of house price growth has started to slide. Now, regional house price analysis by House Buyer Bureau has revealed the change in average house prices at postcode level.
The worst-hit area is the GU25 postcode district of Runnymede, Surrey, where the average asking price has dropped by £315,368, falling from roughly £1.9m in September to £1.6m today. In the SO42 district of Hampshire’s New Forest, the average asking price has fallen from just over £1m to £781,257, a drop of £289,605.
Meanwhile, in Worcester’s WR6 postcode prices have fallen by £143,804, from £572,478 down to £428,674. In Colchester’s CO8 district, prices have fallen from £607,429 to £466,333, a decline of £141,096, and in Surrey’s KT24 postcode district, prices have dropped by £135,092, from £1.1m to £969,638.
Significant price drops have also been recorded in Somerset’s BS28 (-£128,074), London’s SW3 (-£121,049) and WC2 (-£117,796), RG25 in Hampshire (-£116,234), and IV25 in the Scottish Highlands (-£104,861).
Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of House Buyer Bureau, commented: “We’ve seen house prices pushed to record highs during the pandemic and with the market now cooling, it’s no surprise that property values are heading back down to earth.
“Overall, this return to reality has been a steady one but when analysing the market at a more granular level, there are certainly some areas where property values have really fallen through the floor in the wake of September’s mini-budget.”
