LONDON: Pockets of London’s so-called “Stockbroker Belt” suffered the biggest house price declines in 2025, as the southeast of England and the capital fell behind regions in the north.
The West Sussex town of Crawley and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire saw £35,000 or more wiped off the valuation of the average home this year, according to Lloyds Bank.
The neighbourhoods’ 8.9% and 7.4% falls, respectively, were the biggest of any United Kingdom town or city.
Brighton, another area popular with London commuters, was also in the top 10 underperformers, seeing a 4.8%, or £20,000, plunge.
The figures revealed a chasm in house price growth between areas in and around the capital, the most expensive in the United Kingdom, and the rest of the country.
It has been a patchy performance for Britain’s wider market this year with an increase in stamp duty in April, budget uncertainty and still-elevated mortgage rates weighing on price growth.
London and the southeast’s lacklustre performance in recent years has been blamed on a number of factors, including affordability, stamp duty increases, tax clampdowns on landlords and overseas buyers, and Brexit.
Analysis by Bloomberg earlier this month revealed the capital has seen sharp falls in property prices in real terms over the past decade, particularly for apartments.
Lloyds said southeast England “dominates the list of towns where the value of homes fell or grew most slowly in the last year.”
“If you’re open to exploring, you might find places where your money goes further,” said Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Lloyds.
“Northern regions and Scotland are still generally more affordable than the south of England.”
Lloyds said London house prices stagnated in 2025, the worst of any region, while the southeast also lagged behind with growth of just 0.8%.
That contrasts with strong growth in Northern Ireland, Scotland and swathes of northern England, particularly the northwest and Yorkshire and the Humber.
Valuations rose 3.7%, or £13,000, across the United Kingdom as a whole.
Plymouth in the southwest and Stafford in the West Midlands topped the list of house price growth in 2025, enjoying increases of 12.6% and 12%, respectively.
Wigan, Wakefield, Liverpool and Hull in northern England were also strong performers. However, Woking, a London commuter town in Surrey, bucked the region’s trend, with an 8.1% increase. — Bloomberg
