Northern regions outperform as affordability shapes where equity has built
Fewer than one in seven UK homes (14%) increased in value on a consecutive yearly basis between June 2021 and June 2026, according to new analysis from Zoopla, challenging the widely held assumption that property values rise steadily year on year.
Zoopla's latest house price index shows the average UK property gained 15.3% in value over the five-year period, equivalent to £36,100 per home. However, that headline figure masks significant variation driven by the shift from ultra-low mortgage rates at the end of 2021 to the 4–5% rates seen today. Higher borrowing costs have weighed more heavily on markets where property prices are already elevated.
Northern England has shown the greatest resilience. The North West recorded the highest share of consistently appreciating homes, with 30% of properties rising in value each year across the five-year period. Yorkshire and the Humber followed, with 22% of homes registering annual gains. Zoopla attributed this performance to lower average values, which reduce affordability pressure and sustain buyer demand even as mortgage costs rise.
Southern England presents a sharply different picture. Fewer than one in 20 homes in the region recorded consistent yearly increases, reflecting the greater sensitivity of higher-priced markets to rising borrowing costs.
UK choropleth map: homes with consistent annual price growth by region, June 2021 to June 2026. Northern Ireland leads at 37.9%, East of England lowest at 2.6%.
Within regions, localised patterns diverge considerably from area-level averages. Bonnybridge in Scotland recorded the highest proportion of consistently appreciating homes in the UK, at 60.8%, with average values of around £220,000. Zoopla noted its commuter access to Falkirk, Stirling and Glasgow as a supporting factor.
In London, Dagenham outperformed the wider capital. With average values of approximately £400,000 — around 25% below the London average of £525,000 — affordability has been reinforced by transport improvements including the Elizabeth Line and the Overground extension to Barking Riverside.
Bicester in Oxfordshire, where 28% of homes posted consistent gains, benefited from the opening of the Bicester–Bletchley section of East West Rail in December 2024, alongside growth in new housing supply.
By contrast, Witham in the East of England, despite a 45-minute commute to Liverpool Street, saw only 13.3% of homes appreciate each year, with average values already at £320,000. Zoopla said the data reinforced that affordability, rather than transport access alone, underpins sustained price growth.
Persistent year-on-year value declines affected just 0.2% of UK homes, or approximately 56,000 properties. Aberdeen was a notable exception, where 5.9% of homes fell in value each year for five consecutive years, a pattern Zoopla linked to the ongoing structural transition of the North Sea oil and gas sector.
"The last five years have seen local housing markets adjust differently to the impact of moving from record-low borrowing costs to higher rates today," said Richard Donnell (pictured right), executive director at Zoopla.
"Housing markets across Northern Ireland, the North and Scotland have seen homeowners keep building equity in their home because the local housing market was less exposed to the affordability pressures that higher mortgage rates bring.
"For homeowners, this analysis highlights why you cannot rely on national or regional averages when assessing what your home is worth. Trends vary by property type and at a hyper local level. Understanding whether your local area has consistently built equity or flatlined is essential information, if you want to understand what you can afford to buy next or you are actively planning your next move."
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