HOUSE prices have gone up by 11.4 per cent over the last year, and estate agents say it shows the “massive” demand for people wanting to move to the new city.

Figures from building society Nationwide put the average property price in ‘outer-metropolitan areas’, such as Southend, at £422,428. In comparison the average price across the UK is £265,312.

Zak Weavers, director of Southend-based Zak Weavers Real Estate, said the rise showed that it was a sellers’ market.

He said: “This growth has been a trend over the last 12-18 months. Due to a lack of available properties buyers have been competing over the same houses and vendors are able to market aggressively knowing they’ll be demand for it.

“There’s just a massive undersupply which I think is really rising the prices.”

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend in the new city. From January 2015 to July 2020, the average house price in Southend rose by 37 per cent, the equivalent of a 6.5 per cent increase every year.

But Mr Weavers admitted that rising prices also presented a challenge, particularly for people trying to get onto the housing market.

He said: “Sellers are going to achieve more - but they’re going to have to pay more for their next home.

“It’s great for those people not having to buy new property, but for first-time buyers its not great.”

The current rapid rate of growth was not expected to last, however. While Mr Weavers predicted the market would continue to rise a by a few per cent this summer, he expects sales to calm down by the end of the year.

He said: “Southend has grown more than the national average which was a trend that in my opinion can’t continue for much longer. “It’s probably going to grow a little bit more but nowhere near the extent so far. I would be supposed to see a little spurt of growth but come the end of summer it has to stop eventually.”

He added: “It won’t come down but it will certainly stabilise by the end of the year. We’re already seeing a few more properties come onto the market at the start of 2022.”