Back in the not-too-distant day, the word going round Salford was that you could pick up a house in Langworthy for £5,000 as property prices in the 'undesirable' bits of the city collapsed while permanent economic recession hit hard. But at least a house in the city was affordable.
Then along came Salford City Council, via the Labour Government's Pathfinder scheme, and bulldozed thousands of homes, replacing them with new houses right out of the scope of people's pockets.
One bloke, Jimmy Griffiths, who was forcibly removed from his terraced home in Higher Broughton, told the Salford Star in 2007 that "I can own a third of a terraced house on the site where I was, whereas before I owned all of a terraced house..."
Between 2005 and 2007, house owners were paid between £19,250 and £56,000 for their houses in Higher Broughton by Salford Council. Prices a few years later for new houses in the Kings Square estate built on the site of the demolished streets cost up to £239,950 (for full details see previous Salford Star article click here).
Latest research by online estate agents HouseSimple.com, based on Land Registry statistics, now show that Salford has seen the biggest increase in house prices in the north since 2000, rising from an average rock bottom of £42,271 in 2000, to £156,190 currently; a whopping 269.5% increase.
It puts Salford in the top ten property hotspots in England, outside London, and top in the north for average property prices over the period.
Top place in the country, outside London, was Southend-on-Sea which recorded a 290.9% increase, from £71,879 in 2000 to £280,948 now. Apart from Salford, the only other northern place to figure in the top ten was Sale, which recorded a 266.4% increase in average property prices, from £76,351 in 2000 to £279,776.
"While London is the clear winner when it comes to house price growth since the turn of the century, prices have boomed in many areas outside the capital as these figures attest" says Sam Mitchell, CEO of HouseSimple.com "What's more impressive is that in the middle of this 18-year period, we experienced one of the worst recessions this country has ever seen. It shows the resilience of the UK property market.
"During this period, London property prices stabilised thanks to an inflow of foreign investment, and then started to rise again 18 months after the height of the credit crunch" he adds "However, that wasn't the case across large swathes of the country, where the recovery process was far more protracted.
"Today, the property price growth picture is entirely different" he explains "As London's property market shows signs of running out of steam, we are seeing strong growth in the north of England..."
...And an affordable housing crisis to go with it.
See also related Salford Star articles...
Salford Council Figures Show Half of Salford People Cannot Afford A Low Cost House click here
Pendleton Demolitions see More Social Cleansing click here
Salford Apartments Branded 'Downtown Manchester' Flogged to Knightsbridge Investors click here
No Social Rent Housing Built in Salford click here
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