The cities where homeowners are most likely to have seen their property value rise or fall

The areas of England most likely to have seen a house price rise – and house price fall – have been revealed.

An estimated 15 million UK homes have increased in value by more than 1% in the first half of 2024, adding £2,400 typically to their value, experts said.

While around just under seven million homes have also seen their value fall by at least 1% in the same period, this is half of the 14 million figure recorded in the second half of 2023, in signs that house prices have been picking up.

Towns and cities in northern England are particularly likely to have experienced house price gains over the first half of 2024, analysis by a property website indicates.

Homeowners in Oldham, Wakefield and Durham were most likely to have seen the value of their homes increase in value by 1% or more since the start of 2024, Zoopla calculated.

Owners of terraced homes, in particular, are typically seeing more gains than owners of other property types – which Zoopla said has been driven by the popularity of “value-for-money” homes among buyers facing higher mortgage costs.

Zoopla generates value estimates for nearly 30 million UK homes each month, using a combination of local sold and asking prices to give an indicative home value.

Its data indicates that although around half of UK homes have increased in value in the first half of 2024, most of the gains were relatively modest.

Around a third of UK homes, equating to 10 million properties, are estimated to have increased in value by £5,000 or more in the past six months – around double the 5.4 million homes registering similar gains in the last six months of 2023.

Around eight million homes, meanwhile, are estimated to have kept their value stable.

Here are the locations with the biggest proportions of homes increasing in value between January and June, according to Zoopla.

The figures show the average house price followed by the average change over the past six months in percentage and cash terms, and the percentage of homes increasing in value by at least 1%:

1. Oldham, £176,400, 3.9%, £7,100, 83%

2. Wakefield, £183,400, 2.9%, £4,700, 77%

3. Durham, £130,500, 4.2%, £4,700, 76%

4. West Central London, £888,300, 2.2%, £17,700, 72%

5. Darlington, £156,800, 3.1%, £4,400, 71%

6. Watford, £497,000, 2.3%, £10,900, 70%

=7. Bradford, £171,300, 2.7%, £4,500, 69%

=7. Stoke-on-Trent, £191,000, 2.6%, £4,600, 69%

=7. Wigan, £168,900, 2.6%, £3,900, 69%

10. Bath, £333,500, 2.0%, £6,300, 68%

And here are the locations with the biggest proportions of homes reducing in value in January to June 2024, according to Zoopla:

1. Dumfries, £142,800, minus 1.7%, minus £2,100, 54%

2. St Albans, £519,100, minus 1%, minus £4,500, 49%

=3. Dorchester, £340,100, minus 0.6%, minus £1,500, 44%

=3. Colchester, £314,900, minus 0.6%, minus £1,700, 44%

=3. Perth, £206,700, minus 0.1%, minus £200, 44%

=6. Milton Keynes, £338,800, minus 0.5%, minus £1,800, 42%

=6. Harrogate, £325,300, minus 0.5%, minus £1,400, 42%

=8. Exeter, £324,600, minus 0.5%, minus £1,600, 41%

=8. Ipswich, £295,200, minus 0.6%, minus £1,600, 41%

=8. Galashiels (prices rose in this location overall but it still had a relatively high percentage of homes with house falls), £181,600, 0.9%, £900, 41%

Izabella Lubowiecka, a senior property researcher at Zoopla said: “Growing buyer confidence and a rising volume of transactions in the first half of 2024 are translating into firmer home values.

“Half of UK homeowners registered value increases this year – the highest proportion since December 2022. For many homeowners, equity gains are an important part of unlocking their next home move.”