At 4.8%, average annual price growth in the East of England is lower than the UK average. However, growth is currently stronger than at any point since January 2018 and considerably higher than the 1.5% fall recorded this time a year ago. Price growth across five areas currently exceeds 5%. Rightmove report average asking prices fell by just 0.1% month on month across the region in January, with properties selling more quickly than a year ago.
Annual price growth has strengthened across the UK in recent months
Most active housing markets across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire
At £302,624 the average price of a property in the East of England is £13,700 more expensive than a year ago and activity across the market is robust. On average 3.6% of private properties are sold each year, with turnover in Central Bedfordshire and Bedford more than 4%. Over 14,400 new homes were registered for sale, and nationally registrations have been on an upward trend since September.
First-time buyers were particularly affected by the closed housing market and the stricter mortgage lending that followed. However, buyer numbers have recovered steadily, with transactions just 2% lower year on year during the final six months of 2020 (UK Finance). The number of High Loan-to-Value (LTV) mortgage products has also increased, Moneyfacts reporting there were 169 products available at 90% LTV in January, over double the number available back in July. Lending rates remain low, the average mortgage rate the lowest in history.
Properties for sale in the Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire
Eaton Bray, Bedfordshire, 4 bedrooms
Set in a highly desirable village, this well-presented family home offers a recently fitted kitchen and diner, a utility room, a lounge with woodburning stove and bi-fold doors leading out onto the garden and four bedrooms. The property provides a generous garden and is within walking distance of local amenities, including a primary school.
Bury, Cambridgeshire, 4 bedrooms
Set back from the road, with off-road parking for multiple vehicles, this deceptively spacious 1930's family home enjoys a prominent position within the highly regarded Cambridgeshire village of Bury, on a generous well-established plot with a south-facing rear garden. This individual, non-estate dwelling has been modernised throughout to create a highly versatile and inviting home, combining stylish, contemporary interior design with retained original features.
Eastwick, Hertfordshire, 5 bedrooms
This impressive Grade II Listed house enjoys interesting architectural features, such as raking gable parapets, gable chimneys, a rear stair turret, a fine Doric wooden door case, segmental arched flush box sash windows, chamfered ceiling beams and a culvert, which carries a brook under the property. The five-bedroom property benefits from spacious accommodation and a beautiful village setting, whilst being just a mile from the train station with links into London.
