Newport, South Wales, saw the biggest jump in house prices of any UK town or city in 2018, Land Registry data revealed this morning (February 14).
Average property prices in Newport increased by 10.6 per cent to £182,505 in 2018 while Aberdeen suffered the worst fall outside London, dropping 6.5 per cent to £152,799, the latest official statistics showed.
The average growth rate across the UK was 2.6 per cent last year, according to analysis by Gatehouse Bank, with 318 (78.3 per cent) of all 406 local authorities reporting prices increased in 2018, while 88 (21.7 per cent) saw them fall.
Top 10 performing towns and cities in 2018
| TOP TEN 2018 | |||
| Location | Dec 2018 | Change YoY (%) | Change YoY (£) |
| Newport | £182,505 | 10.6% | £17,477 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | £106,228 | 9.7% | £9,401 |
| Nuneaton | £181,987 | 9.3% | £15,512 |
| Warrington | £201,446 | 8.6% | £16,031 |
| Corby | £186,631 | 8.3% | £14,268 |
| Stirling | £187,620 | 8.3% | £14,443 |
| Leicester | £175,250 | 7.6% | £12,436 |
| Liverpool | £137,163 | 7.3% | £9,286 |
| Edinburgh | £260,221 | 7.2% | £17,378 |
| Sheffield | £168,128 | 7.1% | £11,183 |
Ten worst performing towns and cities in 2018
| BOTTOM TEN 2018 | |||
| Location | Dec 2018 | Change YoY (%) | Change YoY (£) |
| Aberdeen | £152,799 | -6.5% | -£10,708 |
| Eastbourne | £228,774 | -5.9% | -£14,324 |
| St Albans | £501,817 | -5.1% | -£27,031 |
| Watford | £350,868 | -3.1% | -£11,149 |
| Conwy | £159,589 | -2.7% | -£4,464 |
| Blackburn | £108,379 | -2.3% | -£2,535 |
| Darlington | £129,985 | -2.0% | -£2,602 |
| Basingstoke | £301,158 | -1.9% | -£5,815 |
| Barrow-in-Furness | £115,481 | -1.7% | -£2,028 |
| Harlow | £272,324 | -1.7% | -£4,712 |
Charles Haresnape, chief executive of Gatehouse Bank, said: “It was an unpredictable year for house prices in 2018 and in the end, although the market only just outpaced inflation on the whole, there were still some stand out performances.
“Increases of 10.6 per cent in Newport and 9.7 per cent in Merthyr Tydfil are pretty striking when you consider the political instability that has weighed on the UK since the Brexit vote.
“Poor performances like that seen in Aberdeen, which fell 6.5 per cent, are proof that the cocktail of economic uncertainty, lack of housing supply and a raft of buyer incentives and cheap borrowing are creating a heady mix of outcomes across the country.
“Of course, a strong increase in one year is no guarantee of future success. Indeed, only three places in 2017’s top 10 appear in 2018’s top flight, with first place Cambridge dropping to 259th of all local authority areas last year.”
Source: FT Adviser