Property values yet to recover from the 2008 market crash

Research from eXp UK, the network of personal estate agents, has revealed that while widespread fears of a current market downturn are yet to materialise, some areas of the UK property market are still yet to recover from the last property market crash.

eXp UK analysed house price data since July 2009, when the 2008 recession technically ended, adjusting for inflation, to reveal where has been the best (& worst) places to have bought a home in that time.

The research shows that since July 2009, the property market has rebounded at an alarming rate, with the average UK house price climbing by 81.2%. Even after adjusting for inflation, UK house prices have increased by 28.9%, a £65,990 jump in value.

London has seen the largest uplift after adjusting for inflation, with house prices up 48.7%, followed by the East of England (45%) and South East (42%).

However, not every area has seen a return to health. In Northern Ireland, the average value of a home has increased by 23.5% since July 2009, but after adjusting for inflation, the nation has actually seen a drop of -12.1% in property values.

The North East is also yet to recover, with inflation adjusted house price growth down -3.7%, while in Scotland house prices have remained flat, increasing by just £71 once adjusting for inflation.

It’s a similar story at a more localised level, with London dominating the top 10 areas to have enjoyed the largest rates of house price growth since the last market crash. In Waltham Forest, inflation-adjusted house price growth sits at a notable 83.2%, followed by the City of London (81.6%), with Hastings the best performing area outside of the capital, up by 71.4%.

However, eXp’s research shows that no less than 35 areas are yet to recover once adjusting for inflation.

Aberdeen ranks as the worst place to have bought a home since the last property market crash, with house prices down -37.5% once adjusting for inflation. Ards and North Down (-17.5%) and Belfast (-16.4%) also rank within the top three.

While the majority of these locations are found across Scotland and Northern Ireland, 13 are located within England. The worst property price performance has been seen in Middlesbrough where inflation adjusted house price growth sits at -9.5%, while County Durham, Hartlepool, Sunderland, Gateshead, Darlington, Blackpool, Allerdale, Preston, Richmondshire, Stockton-on-Tees and Redcar and Cleveland are also yet to recover.

Head of eXp UK, Adam Day, commented:

“Despite growing concerns during the final quarter of 2022, we’re yet to see the housing market buckle under the pressure of the current economic landscape.

While a potential market crash will always be cause for concern for the nation’s homeowners, particularly those to have witnessed the last downturn first hand, the market has rebounded substantially in the years that followed and the vast majority have enjoyed a healthy increase in the value of their home.

However, there are a number of pockets across the UK property market where homeowners are still feeling the impact of the 2008 recession, with the average value of a home having decreased once adjusting for inflation.”