House price growth in North Lincolnshire rises as national growth falls new figures reveal

The figures show the increase in house price growth in the region since the EU referendum.

It is in stark contrast to the national picture, where growth in prices has dropped to less than a third of its previous strong level.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says that Brexit uncertainty, a drop in foreign investment and stretched affordability have all played their part in stunting growth.

Simon Rubinson, RICS's chief economist, said a combination of factors meant that all regions of the UK were being affected.

He said: "There are affordability issues in parts of the country, particularly in London and the South East.

"Taxation is also a big issue – if you look at what has happened in terms of the buy-to-let market, the returns are now relatively limited.

"But when we asked our members for our last survey, despite attempting to get them away from Brexit, they said Brexit uncertainty was the main factor."

Home Office figures show that in June 2016, the month the UK voted to leave the EU, the average sale price of properties in North Lincolnshire was £128,570 – a 6.2 percent increase on two-and-a-half years before. In the same period following the Brexit referendum, the average increased by  15.7 percent, to £150,507 in January. But across Yorkshire and The Humber, where house price growth dropped from 12.8 percent in the two-and-a-half years before the referendum, to six percent afterwards.

Across the UK, growth dropped from 19.6 percent to 6.1 percent. Mr Rubinson warned that a deal for Britain's departure from the EU was unlikely to be the end of uncertainty for the housing market, or lead to a sudden rise in prices. But, he added, that for many of the country’s younger buyers looking to get on the property ladder, this may not be such a bad thing. The number of properties sold in North Lincolnshire in 2018 showed a slowdown in the local market.