London boom 'widens north/south divide'

Posted: 18 Jul 2006 10:17:42 GMT

A booming property sector in London and the south-east has caused the gap between house prices in the north and in the south to open again.

New research from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) indicates that London and the south-east saw the steepest house price rises in six and a half and four years respectively.

With property prices rising much more slowly in the north, Rics claims that the gap in prices is now the largest ever recorded.

Throughout the UK, house prices appear to have risen in June, which comes despite rising unemployment and volatile financial markets.

Around 28 per cent more chartered surveyors reported a rise in house prices than a fall in June, which compares to a figure of 21 per cent in the previous month.

Rics spokesman Ian Perry said: "A strong economic climate continues to encourage the housing market with rising unemployment doing little to discourage the consumer."

Mr Perry also observed that the World Cup had failed to dent the market in the way that many had expected, which he claims provides evidence that "the market remains healthy".


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