Research from Halifax reveals the UK house price growth winners in 2020 is Islington in London with values 13.4% up last year.

The highest UK house price growth in 2020 is trendy Islington in London with homeowners benefiting from property values up 13.4% or £85,918 over the year, according to research from Halifax.

This is significantly above the average gain in Greater London of 6.0% although for first time buyers they would struggle raising bigger deposits and lenders less willing to lend more money.

The northern city of Leeds in second place up 11.3% or £25,024 and Croydon is third with property values rising 10.9% or £39,117 over the past 12 months.

For home movers leaving areas with increasing house prices to slower regions would give them extra equity for a deposit to buy a larger home or can reduce their future mortgage.

Large contrast of winners and losers

The lockdown has changed home buyers priorities for a property and it would be difficult to know which borough in London would realise the biggest gains or the biggest losses.

This table from Halifax shows the top ten towns with house prices and the annual growth for the 12 months to October 2020.

Town	House price	Annual growth
Islington	£727,922	13.4%
Leeds	£222,092	11.3%
Croydon	£358,361	10.9%
Wolverhampton	£198,862	9.5%
Hounslow	£479,962	9.1%
Doncaster	£162,465	8.8%
Inverness	£180,847	8.1%
Bournemouth	£287,962	7.7%
Watford	£427,252	7.7%
Romford	£363,265	7.6%

London takes 9 of the top 20 places with the greatest average gain of 13.4% or £85,918 for Islington with an average house price of £727,922.

Other boroughs have strong gains with Hounslow in West London rising 9.1% or £43,697, Richmond-Upon-Thames up 7.5% or £52,963, Kingston-upon-Thames higher by 7.4% or £41,265 and Lambeth rising 7.0% or gains of £40,340.

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At the other end there were small gains for Haringey rising only 3.3% or an average £18,815 and Wandsworth up 3.4% or £23,342 although by value these exceed most regions outside the capital.

These large gains offer older equity release buyers the opportunity to access cash using a lifetime mortgage to repay an interest only mortgage, purchase a new car or even add an extension.

For remortgage buyers where gains are strong, the current low interest rates mean you can release capital to improve your home by adding more space to work from home.

Not all boroughs increased with homes in Hackney cheaper by -1.5% or -£9,843 with average property values of £636,002 and smaller falls from Merton down -0.6% or -£3,385 and Greenwich lower by -0.2% or -£899.

Northern towns with strong rise

For Yorkshire & Humberside, average house prices in Leeds are up 11.3% or £25,024 and Doncaster up 8.8% or £14,263 while Wolverhampton in the West Midlands is higher by 9.5% or £18,975 year-on-year.

For homeowners selling in Scotland house prices are higher with Inverness in the top ten up 8.1% or £14,687 and Edinburgh rising 6.0% or £15,581 with average property values of £274,246.

In the South West the only town in the top twenty is Bournemouth with prices rising 7.7% or 22,243 and the South East has only one town, Watford higher by 7.7% or £32,850.

For existing buy-to-let landlords the rise in house prices produce more equity which they can benefit from if they sell in the future.

There have been some decreases during the year with the biggest fall in the country for Paisley in Scotland lower by -1.7% or -£2,448, Aberdeen is down by -1.4% or -£2,761 and Falkirk lower by -0.8% or -£1,484.

What are your next steps?

Talk to our London City Mortgage brokers for advice if you remortgage your existing home and want the best mortgage deal or release capital, buying your first home, moving home or a buy-to-let investor.

Learn more by using the equity release calculator, mortgage monthly cost calculators, and property value tracker chart. Start with a free mortgage quote or call us and we can take your details.

For older homeowners releasing equity from your property complete the free lifetime mortgage quote, our LCM mortgage advisers can recommend the best options to access wealth to improve your quality of life or pay for care at home.