Southern Rail strikes halve house price growth

Since October 2016 UK house prices have increased by 2.5%, based on the Halifax House Price Index, but growth was less than 1% along Brighton Mainline, Mainline West and East routes.

Southern Rail strikes halve house price growth

House price growth has halved in locations affected by the Southern Rail strikes according to figures compiled by online estate agent HouseSimple.

Since October 2016 UK house prices have increased by 2.5%, based on the Halifax House Price Index, but growth was less than 1% along Brighton Mainline, Mainline West and East routes.

Alex Gosling, chief executive of HouseSimple, said: “House price growth along Southern Rail routes has crawled along over the past three months as many areas of the country have seen strong growth.

“Although December is traditional a quieter month for property sales, it’s likely that the ongoing Southern Rail dispute is playing a major role in this slowdown in house prices in local markets, as prospective buyers will have understandable concerns over the reliability of the service. Until the dispute is resolved, buyers may not want to commit to a purchase.

“However, there will be some determined buyers who may see this situation as an opportunity to negotiate a good price if there are sellers who need to move and are willing to consider lower offers in order to sell quickly."

Property prices in Pulborough (0.5%) and Lewes (0.43%) have only seen small increases in the past three months while some of the least affected were Hove, Shoreham-by-Sea, Bishopstone and Seaford, the only areas where price growth eclipsed 1.3%.