North, south price divide widens


Mon 7th Jan, 17:04:20 GMT

The gap between house prices in the north and south of England continued to widen last year, new figures from Nationwide have revealed.

Although the final three months of 2007 saw house price growth cool across every region in the UK as the market felt the impact of ongoing financial uncertainty, the firm said that the average difference in price between a typical home in the north and south grew by 15 per cent in 2007.

House hunters in the south pay an average of £90,000 more for a property than those who live in the north, the research found.

Prices in London alone grew by 12.8 per cent last year, making it the area with the fastest rate of year-on-year price growth in England.

Fionnuala Earley, chief economist at Nationwide, commented: "In terms of house price growth, prices in the south are increasing at an annual rate of nine per cent.

"This is almost three times as fast as in the north, where prices are increasing at 3.4 per cent per year," she said.

Last year, a study by the Institute for Public Policy Research North found that there is still a huge disparity between the average earnings of people in the north and south of England despite efforts to close the gap.ADNFCR-1143-ID-18416494-ADNFCR


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