Western Britain dominates house price growth

Posted: 18 Apr 2006 09:43:39 GMT

New research has found that during the last ten years, 18 of the top 20 counties for increasing house prices have been in western Britain.

With the Isle of Wight and East Sussex the only two counties from outside western Britain on the list, it really has been a one-sided affair, with Wales responsible for much of this domination.

Indeed, 13 of the top 20 counties for house price growth were in Wales, with a further four in south-west England and one in the West Midlands.

While property experts suggest the situation is now starting to change, the 19 areas with the slowest house price inflation since 1996 are all found in Scotland.

Aberdeenshire has been bringing up the rear with growth reaching just 103 per cent over the decade, which compares to 268 per cent in Cornwall during the same period.

The report from Halifax shows that since 1996, the average house price has at least trebled in 28 of the 102 counties analysed, while prices have at least doubled in every single region.

The most expensive houses, meanwhile, are in Surrey, where the average home will set you back £298,835.

When considered alongside recent reports pointing to further house price growth in the last quarter, the figures from Halifax reiterate again the difficulties facing homebuyers in the UK.

As prices continue to rise, sellers are increasingly looking to advertise houses privately online to reach a wide audience of buyers hoping to avoid the added fees involved in employing an estate agent.


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