Gap between house prices at two decade high
25 Jun 2015
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released data showing the increasing gap between the least and most expensive homes in England and Wales, from 1995 to 2014.
In 2014 Kensington and Chelsea was the local authority with the most expensive median house price, at £1,195,000, while Blaenau Gwent had the lowest median house price, at £75,000.
This represents a difference of almost 1,500% in 2014, whereas the gap in 1995 was 516%.
The ONS report said: ‘This percentage gap has also been increasing year on year since 2006, having fallen between 2003 and 2006’.
Chief Economist at Capital Economics, Matthew Pointon, said: ‘In part, that reflects the usual pattern of London house prices leading the rest of the country during the early stages of a housing market recovery.
The figures show that average house prices across the UK are now increasing, with 336 local authorities reporting an increase while only six showed a decrease.