Property prices in the capital have held their value better than the UK average since 2007, with average prices currently 10% above their 2007 peak. Nationally, prices remain 6% below their 2007 peak.
Home prices have risen by 49% since mid-2009 - significantly above the 19% rise nationally. At £356,054, the average house price in London is nearly £170,000 (90%) above the UK average of £187,362. On a per square metre basis, residential homes in the capital are more than twice as expensive as the national average (£3,952 against £1,916).
Seven out of ten of all million pound home sales in Britain during the first half of 2014 were in London.
However, London is also the most expensive place for a first-time buyer to own and run a house in the UK, with the average annual cost - at £15,699 - almost double the UK average of £8,126.
On the downside, savings in the capital are lower in relation to earnings than elsewhere in the UK – 26% of annual pre-tax earnings against 35% nationally – which may partly reflect its younger age profile.
London has areas with both the highest and lowest savers in England and Wales; in Kensington and Chelsea, Richmond upon Thames, Harrow and Westminster the average balance is above £13,000. Hackney, Newham, Barking and Dagenham, Lewisham and Southwark are all below £6,500.
However average customer savings balances of £9,745 in London are still 2% higher than the England and Wales average (£9,592).
Martin Ellis, Halifax Economist, said:
“As a leading global city, London provides major economic, social and cultural benefits not just to those who live in the capital but also for the rest of the country. The London economy has performed more strongly than any other part of the UK in recent years, resulting in a widening gap between the capital and the rest of the country.
“This economic success, however, comes at a cost. Property prices are substantially higher than elsewhere in the UK and the property divide has widened further in recent years.”
