More than 13 years after the 2008 crash Durham and Hartlepool are the last two places in the UK where property prices are yet to recover to pre-crash levels, reveals research by home setup service Just Move In.
Property prices have surged during the pandemic, with the average home hitting record levels, but parts of the country have only recently recovered to the highs they reached before the credit crunch.
The average UK home peaked at £190,032 in September 2007, and is currently 142% higher at £269,945.
The average home in Durham was £119,447 in the latest Land Registry figures, which was £2,890 below its £122,337 pre-crash peak in October 2007. Hartlepool prices are £129,438, £3,498 lower than the £132,936 it topped out at in November 2007.
Blackpool and Middlesbrough finally recovered to pre-crash levels in the latest Land Registry data, and are among 13 regions that took more than 13 years to do so.
By contrast, London recovered to its pre-crash peak in only two years. Nine of the fastest ten areas to recover are found in the South, while all ten of the slowest regions are in the North.
Cambridge, London and St Albans have fared best since the crash, with prices currently 181%, 175% and 168% of their pre-crash peak respectively.
Ross Nichols, Co-founder of home setup service Just Move In, said: “The housing market has exploded over the past year, but it’s sobering to think that parts of the country have only recently recovered to the levels they were before the 2008 crash.
“Hartlepool and Durham are the last two parts of the country that still haven’t hit that level, while Blackpool and Middlesbrough only recovered in the most recent figures.
“There’s a North-South divide when it comes to the recovery, with London and other Southern cities bouncing back quickly, while Northern areas are still lagging behind.”
