Mortgage Industry News

← Back

Cheap mortgage needed for expensive London

Date: Tue, 23 May 2006

The expensive London housing market means that many buyers in the capital are searching for cheap mortgage deals.

Figures show that the gap between London prices and the rest of the UK are continuing to widen. The Halifax house price per square metre (psm) survey calculates house price movement on a city-wide basis by dividing average property values in individual cities by the average area of a property.

The latest results show that the average house price in London per psm was £3,582 – 31 per cent higher than the second-most expensive city of Oxford. In 1996, the gap between the two cities was just 0.3 per cent.

Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax Estate Agents, explained that the house growth within some areas could be linked with lifestyle buyers.

"Smaller cities, with an average population of less than 250,000, like Truro, Brighton and Bath have generally recorded the largest increases in average house prices per square metre over the past ten years," said Mr Ellis.

"This highlights that many households want the conveniences of city living, such as good shopping, transport links and easy commuting whilst living in attractive surroundings," he added.

Anyone struggling to afford London prices are being encouraged to shop around for a cheap mortgage that offers low interest rates and affordable repayments.


© 1998-2005 DeHavilland Information Services plc. All rights reserved.

Endsleigh Insurance Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. This can be checked on the FSA Register by visiting its web site at www.fsa.gov.uk/register.
Endsleigh Insurance Services Limited. Company No: 856706 registered in England at Shurdington Road, Cheltenham Spa, Gloucestershire GL51 4UE.