Average square foot costs £211 - up 26 per cent in five years
Properties in Blaenau Gwent (South Wales) offer homeowners most space for their money, costing just £79 per square foot
Kensington and Chelsea home to most expensive square foot at £1,382 – up 29 per cent since 2012
Outside of London, Surrey’s Elmbridge is the most expensive area with properties costing £495 per square foot
Highest growth rate outside London is in Slough, where the average price per square foot has increased by 64 per cent in five years
The average British property now costs £211 per square foot, marking an increase of 26 per cent (£44) over the past five years, according to new data from property website Zoopla.
Zoopla analysed figures from Hometrack to reveal the average price per square foot of properties across Britain by region and by local authority, as well as the rate at which these values have grown over the past five years.
Blaenau Gwent in South Wales is the local authority that offers buyers the most space for their money with an average price per square foot of just £79 - up 10 per cent since 2012. This is closely followed by Burnley, Lancashire, at £87 per square foot – down three per cent since 2012. Unsurprisingly, the most expensive square foot can be found in London’s royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where the going rate currently stands at £1,328 – up 29 per cent over the past five years. The City of Westminster is a close second at £1,093 per square foot – up 36 per cent since 2012. Outside the capital, Elmbridge in notoriously expensive Surrey has the highest price per square foot at £495 – also up 36 per cent.
On a regional level, house hunters can achieve the most value in the North East where the average price per square foot is £124, and has risen by just three per cent over the past five years. Second cheapest is Wales where the average square foot currently costs £137 (a nine per cent rise since 2012). The average square foot is least affordable in the capital at £496, with an increase of more than half (54 per cent) over the past five years. This is followed by South East England (£309 per square foot – up 36 per cent) and the East of England, where the average square foot costs £269 (an increase of 38 per cent since 2012).
The biggest increases in price per square foot over the past five years (outside of London) can be found in Slough, where the average square foot has risen by 64 per cent (£145) to £374 since 2012. The Berkshire-based local authority is closely followed by the popular commuter area of Stevenage with a rise of 59 per cent (up £105 to £282 per square foot). At the other end of the scale, prices per square foot have decreased in value over the past five years in Hartlepool, County Durham, at a rate of seven per cent (down £7 to £102 per square foot).
A closer look at increases in price per square foot in London reveals that the sharpest rises can be found in East London. Newham, home to the Olympic Park, tops the table with a hike of 86 per cent since 2012, taking the average price per square foot to £422. Waltham Forest has also seen significant increases of 84 per cent (£227) over the past five years, taking properties to £498 per square foot, closely followed by Barking and Dagenham at 73 per cent (up £145 to £344 per square foot).
Lawrence Hall, spokesperson for Zoopla comments: “Analysing property prices per square foot is an effective way of seeing where you can achieve the most space for your money and can help steer you to areas you may want to focus your property search on, depending on your budget.
“The home counties have performed very well since 2012 in addition to some London boroughs, such as Newham and Waltham Forest, which have seen increases of over 80 per cent per square foot. This is no doubt in part due to the significant investment regenerating the area for the London Olympics. However, if you’re looking to maximise the amount of space possible on a budget, you should look to the Midlands and North to ensure best value for money.”
Regional growth in price per square foot since 2012 (ranked highest to lowest)
Rank | Area | 2017 Price Per Sq Ft (£) | 2012 Price Per Sq Ft (£) | Difference in price (£) | Percentage change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | London | £496 | £321 | £175 | 54% |
2 | East of England | £269 | £195 | £74 | 38% |
3 | South East | £309 | £227 | £82 | 36% |
4 | South West | £223 | £182 | £41 | 23% |
5 | East Midlands | £164 | £136 | £28 | 20% |
6 | West Midlands | £173 | £147 | £26 | 18% |
7 | Scotland | £137 | £123 | £14 | 11% |
8 | North West | £147 | £132 | £15 | 11% |
9 | Yorkshire and the Humber | £146 | £133 | £13 | 10% |
10 | Wales | £137 | £125 | £12 | 9% |
11 | North East | £124 | £120 | £4 | 3% |
Source: Zoopla and Hometrack September 2017
Top 10 local authorities with highest growth in price per square foot since 2012 (excluding London)
Rank | Local authority area | 2017 Price Per Sq Ft (£) | 2012 Price Per Sq Ft (£) | Difference in price (£) | Percentage change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Slough | £374 | £229 | £145 | 64% |
2 | Stevenage | £282 | £177 | £105 | 59% |
3 | Welwyn Hatfield | £379 | £241 | £138 | 57% |
4 | Luton | £260 | £166 | £94 | 57% |
5 | Broxbourne | £371 | £238 | £133 | 56% |
6 | Watford | £414 | £266 | £148 | 56% |
7 | Three Rivers | £458 | £295 | £163 | 55% |
8 | Dartford | £326 | £211 | £115 | 55% |
9 | Thurrock | £289 | £187 | £102 | 55% |
10 | Harlow | £295 | £192 | £103 | 54% |
Source: Zoopla and Hometrack September 2017
Top 10 London boroughs with highest growth in price per square foot since 2012
Rank | Borough | 2017 Price Per Sq Ft (£) | 2012 Price Per Sq Ft (£) | Difference in price (£) | Percentage change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Newham | £422 | £227 | £195 | 86% |
2 | Waltham Forest | £498 | £271 | £227 | 84% |
3 | Barking and Dagenham | £344 | £199 | £145 | 73% |
4 | Lewisham | £493 | £289 | £204 | 71% |
5 | Greenwich | £429 | £254 | £175 | 69% |
6 | Croydon | £398 | £244 | £154 | 63% |
7 | Southwark | £649 | £399 | £250 | 62% |
8 | Brent | £532 | £329 | £203 | 62% |
9 | Lambeth | £620 | £385 | £235 | 61% |
10 | Hackney | £685 | £427 | £258 | 61% |
Source: Zoopla and Hometrack September 2017
Top 10 most expensive local authority areas by price per square foot (excluding London)
Rank | Local authority area | 2017 Price Per Sq Ft (£) | 2012 Price Per Sq Ft (£) | Difference in price (£) | Percentage change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Elmbridge | £495 | £364 | £131 | 36% |
2 | St. Albans | £489 | £346 | £143 | 41% |
3 | Three Rivers | £458 | £295 | £163 | 55% |
4 | Hertsmere | £455 | £300 | £155 | 51% |
5 | Epsom and Ewell | £450 | £318 | £132 | 41% |
6 | Cambridge | £442 | £306 | £136 | 45% |
7 | South Bucks | £433 | £311 | £122 | 39% |
8 | Chiltern | £433 | £300 | £133 | 44% |
9 | Mole Valley | £428 | £320 | £108 | 34% |
10 | Windsor and Maidenhead | £426 | £293 | £133 | 45% |
Source: Zoopla and Hometrack September 2017
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