Property prices in London have increased by 10.6% in the last year significantly above other regions in the UK.
The Land Registry has published figures with a large discrepancy in house prices with London showing the greatest increase and average house prices in London are now at £396,646.
After London the biggest rise was South East of England with prices up 3.5% and across England and Wales by 3.2%. This means house prices are now at an average of £165,411.
Older homeowners with considerable value in their property offers the equity release buyer access to cash using a lifetime mortgage to repay an interest only mortgage or help your children start or expand a business.
Mixed results in other regions
Property prices for Wales were higher by 3.3% for the year and average prices are £118,310.
Without family help to upsize, the only option for some remortgage buyers to stay in their existing home and continue saving more for a bigger deposit.
The East of England recently experienced a price fall of 0.7% in November reducing average prices to £177,975 according to the Land Registry data which includes houses bought for cash and mortgages.
In contrast the North East had a fall in prices by 1.6% this year with average house prices at £96,227. Prices are now 75% lower than average prices in London.
The reduction in house prices is good news for first time buyers as they would require a lower deposit or smaller mortgage to get on the property ladder.
London expecting strong increases
Even with the current double digit rise in house prices, London is expected to continue rising in 2014 ahead of the rest of the UK.
In November prices were higher by 1.8% according to the Land Registry data with the low supply of luxury central London properties driving the market.
The increase has been helped by wealthy international buyers at the top end of the housing market as well as the Help to Buy scheme that offers mortgage borrowers place a 5% and receive a further 20% equity loan guarantee from the government.
Family members can help home movers where equity release buyers access wealth using a lifetime mortgage and gift an extra deposit to buy their second home.
What are your next steps?
Talk to our London City Mortgage advisers if you are an older homeowner releasing equity from your property, we can recommend the lifetime mortgage to access wealth to consolidate debt, home improvements or gifting to a family member.
Learn more by using the equity release mortgage calculator, property value tracker chart and mortgage cost calculator. Start with a free mortgage quote or call us and we can take your details.
At LCM our mortgage brokers can provide advice if you are a first time buyer, moving home, want to remortgage your existing home to a new cost effective mortgage deal or are a buy-to-let investor.
Use your dashboard to access online mortgage quotes, money off vouchers and start your mortgage application online 24/7 on desktop, tablet or smartphone.
