South East of England house prices leads the way after a near 14 years absence at the top of the property price table, the February House Price Index for England and Wales from e.surv has revealed.
The Index also found that Wales has continued to perform strongly, with London once more catching up.
Strong growth was recorded by regions below the line from the Wirral to the Thames Estuary, and weaker above it.
Overall England and Wales monthly and annual growth edging down at 6.9% and the average house price for England & Wales is now at £361,767, up 1.5% over the month and 6.9% annually.
Richard Sexton, director at e.surv, said: “This month’s data highlights the shifting change in attitude with regard to where and how we decide to live and work.
“The headline is about the return of Greater London and the South East to the top four areas of house price growth in our index for the first time since August 2020.
“The South East is now in top position in the league table, having been absent for more than a decade. There is good reason for this.
“There is a huge lack of supply in the market and yet, in many parts of the country, there is still high demand for properties that offer more space and a garden but also access to places of work.
“Our data is showing evidence now that while some areas, like Wales, continue to offer excellent value and rural living, we are seeing a demand for properties that offer a good working from home environment but remain in reach of our cities.
“Some commentators have pointed out that offices are well-liked working environments, and it is long journeys that deter people from commuting.
“It stands to reason then that the ‘perfect commute’ will command a good price and hybrid working arrangements will clearly benefit commuter belt towns.
“In our granular analysis of the South East, we see that Sevenoaks in Kent has a similar journey time to Woking of 35 minutes into London.
“The average house price in Sevenoaks is £605,000, which is similar to that of Woking at £603,000 and Epsom and Ewell, which again has a similar journey time and an average price of £595,489.
“This suggests that there is a close correlation between rail commuting times into Central London and house prices.
“If hybrid working is the future of office working then easy commuting will be an essential pre-requisite of many homebuyers.”
