Ten years ago the financial crisis started. Few people knew it at the time what impact this would have on the global economy. Banks collapsed, unemployment soared, and house prices in many countries, including the UK, crashed.
While many people have seen the value of their properties recover since the crash, other homeowners who acquired property before the crash – at the peak of the market – are still stuck in negative equity, whereby a property is worth less than the mortgage secured on it, as a consequence of falling property prices.
But what are the UK towns and cities where average property prices today are still below 2007 levels?
Fresh analysis of Land Registry data on average house prices in more than 60 towns and cities, between in June 2007 and July 2017, conducted by online estate agents HouseSimple, reveals where prices are lower today than they were 10 years ago.
The study found that in 17 of those towns and cities, average property prices today are still below 2007 values, with the majority of negative equity hotspots located in the North West, North East and Yorkshire & The Humber.
Blackpool has proved to be the worst affected area, followed by Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Preston.
Take a look:
| Town/City | Region | Average price – June 2007 (£) | Average price – June 2017 (£) | % difference between June 2017 and 2007 prices | |
| 1 | Blackpool | North West | £124,492 | £105,406 | -15.3 |
| 2 | Sunderland | North East | £127,268 | £110,404 | -13.3 |
| 3 | Middlesbrough | Yorkshire & the Humber | £124,762 | £112,641 | -9.7 |
| 4 | Preston | North West | £138,666 | £127,476 | -8.1 |
| 5 | Stockton-on-Tees | North East | £140,871 | £132,777 | -5.7 |
| 6 | Gateshead | North East | £135,407 | £130,246 | -3.8 |
| 7 | Rotherham | Yorkshire & the Humber | £133,572 | £128,544 | -3.8 |
| 8 | Newport | Wales | £164,922 | £158,763 | -3.7 |
| 9 | Bolton | North West | £129,325 | £124,678 | -3.6 |
| 10 | Newcastle-upon-Tyne | North East | £162,523 | £156,753 | -3.6 |
| 11 | Blackburn | North West | £117,006 | £113,130 | -3.3 |
| 12 | Swansea | Wales | £143,299 | £140,370 | -2.0 |
| 13 | Doncaster | Yorkshire & the Humber | £127,019 | £124,634 | -1.9 |
| 14 | Stoke-on-Trent | West Midlands | £105,057 | £103,578 | -1.4 |
| 15 | Rochdale | North West | £127,085 | £107,685 | -1.1 |
| 16 | Liverpool | North West | £125,253 | £123,920 | -1.1 |
| 17 | Bradford | Yorkshire & the Humber | £135,383 | £134,003 | -1.0 |
Property price recovery over the past 10 years has been much stronger in the South and East than the North of England, led by London, where house prices have outperformed any other UK town or city, with average prices almost £200,000 higher than 2007 levels.
Check out the following table:
| Town/City | Region | Average price – June 2007 (£) | Average price June 2017 (£) | % difference between June 2017 and 2007 prices | |
| 1 | London | London | £286,000 | £482,000 | 68.5 |
| 2 | Cambridge | East | £272,286 | £447,839 | 64.5 |
| 3 | Stevenage | East | £181,475 | £287,692 | 58.5 |
| 4 | Slough | South East | £193,650 | £301,986 | 55.9 |
| 5 | Oxford | South East | £266,881 | £412,937 | 54.7 |
| 6 | Luton | East | £161,661 | £238,448 | 47.5 |
| 7 | Reading | South East | £207,285 | £303,276 | 46.3 |
| 8 | Southend | East | £186,318 | £271,784 | 45.9 |
| 9 | Winchester | South East | £287,220 | £417,893 | 45.5 |
| 10 | Brighton | South East | £245,268 | £356,438 | 45.3 |
| 11 | Milton Keynes | South East | £185,686 | £260,680 | 40.4 |
| 12 | Bristol | South West | £188,833 | £264,873 | 40.3 |
Commenting on the property price research, the CEO of HouseSimple, Alex Gosling, said: “The last 10 years has been a golden period for many UK homeowners who have sat back and watched the value of their homes rise to record levels.
“Unfortunately, there are pockets of the UK where property prices have been literally stuck in the past. Many of these homeowners will have been in negative equity for a decade.
“It must be galling for anyone who bought a property ten years ago, at the top of the market, and are sitting in a home that is still worth less today than it was when they bought it pre-2008.
“Worse still, any hope they have of drawing a line under their misfortune, and moving on, is most likely on pause as selling up would mean losing money. Finding the funds for a house deposit is difficult enough without having to cover losses on a house sale as well.”