If you’re on the hunt for a new home within easy reach of London, you’ve probably been working through a list areas that are feasible for your commuter and within your budget.
But have you considered St Albans, in Hertfordshire?
Although house prices in St Albans are usually pretty sky-high, we’re currently in a rare moment where you can bag yourself a bit of a bargain.
With mortgage rates soaring, buyers have been priced out of the housing market, particularly in St Albans, forcing sellers to drop asking prices.
The cathedral city has seen one of the biggest proportions of reductions throughout the course of this year, making it good time to put in an offer.
According to Zoopla, a whopping 49% of homes have slashed their prices, cutting off on average £4,500 between January and June.
Now, the average value of property here sits at £519,100, down by 1% in the last six months.
St Albans is bucking the trend of other cities around the country, which have largely seen the market shift in the opposite direction.
Zoopla reports 30 million UK homes recorded price growth – the highest proportion since December 2022 – with the average property up by £2,400.
The news will be welcome to city-dwellers’ ears, as St Albans is a commuter hotspot, just 28 minutes away from King’s Cross.
Given its easy access into the city, St Albans became a popular area for buyers – particularly in the pandemic.
As many of us can relate, bigger houses with gardens became extremely appealing during lockdown, which drove up house prices in the Hertfordshire destination.
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But Zoopla says the current drop we’re seeing in St Albans marks the end of the pandemic property boom, with house prices readjusting to new market norms.
The only place that saw a higher number of houses dropping their price is Dumfries in Scotland, which is obviously a far longer journey from London.
In Dumfries, 54% of homes fell by an average £2,100 in value, bringing the typical house price in the region down to £142,800.
Other areas around the UK have experienced similar drops, including Dorchester and Colchester which both saw 44% of homes lower by 0.6% which equates to nearly £2,000.
In Ipswich the figure is 41%, with an average reduction of 0.6% in price (£1,600) bringing the average to £295,200, while Milton Keynes and Harrogate both saw 42% of homes dropping by 0.5%, putting average prices at £325,300 and £338,800 respectively.
Izabella Lubowiecka, of Zoopla, commented on findings: ‘Growing buyer confidence and a rising volume of transactions in the first half of 2024 are translating into firmer home values.’
Every little helps.
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