Salisbury had the highest house price growth over the pandemic of all UK cities, according to Halifax research published this month.

Between June 2020 and 2021 Salisbury had a 36 per cent surge in house prices, which is over three times the national average for house price growth in UK cities over the pandemic.

According to data from Halifax, the average house price in Salisbury was £288,692 in 2020 which increased by over £100,000 to £392,355 in 2021 marking a 36 per cent increase.

This is significantly higher than the national average house price growth for UK cities which was 10 per cent, the overall national average that includes towns and villages slightly higher at 12 per cent.

Highest and lowest growth

Hereford had the second highest growth in house prices over the pandemic at 29 per cent, which is ten percent more than the third highest which was Lancaster (19 per cent).

South-west based cities made up four out of the ten places which had experienced the highest house price growth over the pandemic, with Truro in Cornwall (18 per cent), Gloucester and Bath (17 per cent) joining Salisbury on the list.

The West Midlands also experienced a pandemic house price increase, with Birmingham (19 per cent) and Wolverhampton (17 per cent) joining Hereford to make three out of the ten cities on the list from this region.

The remaining cities were from different regions with Lancaster in the Northwest (19 per cent), Newport (Gwent) in Wales (17 per cent), and Sunderland in the North (15 per cent).

On the whole, this suggests that cities north of London experienced the greatest increase in house prices over the pandemic which is true in terms of percentage shift but not necessarily in terms of actual cost. 

South Western cities made up the most expensive cities on the list to buy a house in as is clear from this second graph. 

Bath, Salisbury and Truro make up the top three most expensive places with 2021 average house prices at £476,470, £392,355, and £356,788 respectively.

Sunderland, Newport (Gwent) and Lancaster represented the least expensive cities on the list to buy a house with prices of £179,567, £211,240 and £217,392 respectively. 

'Least affordable cities'

Research from Halifax also showed that Salisbury is among the 20 least affordable cities in the UK, with the average house price costing ten times the average Salisbury worker’s salary.

READ: Salisbury one of most expensive cities in UK to buy a house

The fact that Salisbury house prices have grown so much over the pandemic suggests that the city has become a more popular place to live.

This is good news for the city’s traders, as more money flows in, but is less good news for local workers looking to buy their first home. If this trend in growth continues Salisbury’s affordability will continue to get worse.

Hamptons’ Associate Director Chris Husson-Martin suggests the recent spike in growth has been driven by Londoners seeking homes in Salisbury after the pandemic has changed work patterns and priorities.

He said: “The change in lifestyles, with more people working from home, has meant our beautiful city is one of the hotspots for those seeking a change in lifestyle.

“That’s why we have seen so many people wanting to buy, and this has had a direct impact on our house prices and continues to do so.”

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