Northern regions are ‘now a primary focus’ for UK...

With London’s housing market continuing to slow, a growing number of property investors are reportedly now turning their attentions to England’s northern regions where prospects for capital growth look far more promising, as illustrated by the latest Hometrack report, released on Friday.

Cooler market conditions in the capital contributed to a slowdown in the headline rate of growth for Hometrack’s UK Cities Index, which is now running at 6.9%, down from 7.2% a month earlier and 7.9% a year ago.

The 20-city average now stands at £245,900, with Manchester registering the greatest uplift outside of southern England, with an increase of 8.3% in the last year.

Ged McPartlin, sales director at Ascend Properties, ‎said: “For years we have stressed that the Manchester property market was going to enjoy hugely positive growth, owing to affordability, widespread investment across the city, excellent transport links and employment prospects - with swathes of young professionals now choosing to make it home.

“Now we are consistently seeing the figures to back it up, with the latest Hometrack report showing that Manchester is leading the charge outside of London and the south."

In addition to Manchester, London has also now been overtaken by Birmingham, and Liverpool, where similarly prices are rising off a lower base and affordability levels remain attractive.

Graham Davidson, managing director of Sequre Property Investment, commented: “Regardless of shifting political conditions, London has long been overdue a cooling off, with property prices spiralling out of control and home ownership becoming an increasingly distant hope.

“From an investment point of view, as the Hometrack report shows, the rise of the Northern regions is now a primary focus - with lower entry prices and yields that are simply not available in the capital anymore. Our own business has seen numerous investors taking their money out of London and we expect this to be a growing trend in 2017.”