Surrey matches London on rising house prices, shock figures show
Commuter belt Surrey has almost kept pace with the UK’s hottest property hotspot - London – over the past year, the latest figures reveal.
And while rising interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis are making it harder to get on the property ladder, it’s not all doom and gloom for first-time buyers, according to experts in Surrey. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics puts the median price of a house in London in 2023 at £530,000, a small lead over Surrey, which sits at £510,000.
In comparison, the average values two decades ago were £195,000 in London and £218,000 in Surrey. Around one decade ago the two areas met in the middle, with London exceeding Surrey’s prices for the first time - London’s median had risen to £315,000 and Surrey’s to £312,000.
For a modern day comparison, the South East of England is the richest region (as opposed to county) outside London in the whole of England and Wales. The South East’s median price in 2023 was £380,000 and inside that region, the second most expensive county, behind Surrey, was Oxfordshire at £400,000.
Matt Cavender, one of the founders and directors of Cavender Estate Agents in Guildford, explained Surrey’s continuing popularity: “Many towns in Surrey, such as Guildford, are considered highly desirable places to live. They also offer easy access to London, often within 30 minutes by train which means they can still work in London and earn London salaries but live a more relaxed lifestyle.”
According to Mr Cavender: “A wide range of people aged 18 upwards are moving from considerable distances into this area.”
The largest factor a new buyer needs to consider is often location, recommends Mr Cavender: “Being slightly outside the town centre gets more for your money”.
He adds: “Many of the popular Surrey towns have really pleasant neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the centre and within easy access. This means you can get the benefits of the town centre being close but you will be able to afford more property for the same money.”
Despite Matt Cavender’s optimistic view it will be a challenge for young people on average wages hoping to move into the county.
Data from 2024, reported by Forbes, shows that on average, 18 to 21 year-olds earn an annual salary of £23,244, 22 to 29 year-olds earn £31,408 and for age group 30 to 39 the average rises to £39,260.
Comparing this to the ONS’s data on median salaries and house prices in Surrey, the discrepancy becomes clear. The median residence-based salary in Surrey is £42,882. This number is already far higher than the national average and certainly higher than the average for the aforementioned age groups.
The ratio between this median wage and the median price of a house in Surrey is 11.89. Considering that lenders traditionally offer four or five times a buyer’s average salary for a mortgage, these statistics are daunting for those hooping to move in, especially for young families or first time buyers looking to enter the Surrey housing market.
The CEO at Surrey Chambers of Commerce, Louise Punter, commented on the effect that rising costs will have on Surrey business: “When you’re recruiting, particularly at middle management level, and you know people are coming from another area, they come into Surrey and look at house prices and quite honestly it is a real barrier.
This will ultimately ‘stop people moving here to take up jobs that we’d like them to be taking up’.