News: 'Decade of the west' for house prices

Wed, 19 Apr 06

Western Britain leads the way in house price gains over the last ten years, according to a new report from the Halifax.

Eighteen of the 20 counties with the strongest house prices increases since 1996 are in western Britain, said the Halifax, with 13 in Wales, four in the South West (Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Somerset) and one in the West Midlands (Shropshire).

The remaining two counties in the top 20 are both in the South East – the Isle of Wight and East Sussex.

The 19 areas recording the smallest rise in average house prices since 1996 are all in Scotland.

The average house price in the most expensive county, Surrey, is currently 3.2 times that in the least expensive county, Blaenau Gwent - the same as in 1996. In monetary terms, however, the gap has widened significantly from £67,682 in 1996 to £206,117 in 2006 – an increase of 138% in real terms (i.e. once the increase retail price inflation over the period is taken into account).

Biggest Price Rises

Cornwall has recorded the biggest house price rises over the past 10 years with a 268% gain in the average price from £53,081 in 1996 to £195,388 in 2006 Quarter 1.

The next five best performers during the past decade were all in Wales: Anglesey (252%), Ceredigion (244%), Carmarthenshire (243%), Caerphilly (229%) and Powys (222%).

The average house price has at least trebled since 1996 in almost one in three (28) counties. Prices have at least doubled over the past ten years in all 102 counties analysed.

Smallest Price Rises

Aberdeenshire (103%) and Dundee City (103%) have experienced the lowest average house price gains since 1996 followed by Argyll & Bute (104%) and Renfrewshire (104%).

Most Expensive

Surrey has remained the most expensive county in the UK with a current average price of £298,835 despite being just outside the top 20 in terms of house price growth since 1996.

Surrey, Hertfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire were the four most expensive counties in the UK in both 1996 and 2006.

Nine of the current 10 most expensive counties are in the South East with Dorset in the South West being the exception. The 10 most expensive counties all have an average price in excess of £200,000.

The most expensive areas outside southern England are Monmouthshire (£198,030), East Renfrewshire (£192,075), Herefordshire (£190,588) and North Yorkshire (£185,048).

Least Expensive

Blaenau Gwent is the least expensive area in the UK with an average house price in 2006 Quarter 1 of £92,718. Blaenau Gwent was also the least expensive in 1996 when the average price was £30,884.

The 10 least expensive counties in the UK in 2006 are all in Scotland (8) and Wales (2). In 1996, the five least expensive areas were all in Wales with the remainder of the 10 least expensive counties in Northern Ireland (3), the North (County Durham) and Yorkshire & the Humber (South Humberside).

House Price Milestones

In 1996 no county had an average house price above £100,000 and 32 counties (31% of the total) had an average price below £50,000.

Currently, only Blaenau Gwent (£92,718) has an average price below £100,000. Ten counties have an average price in excess of £200,000.

"Both parts of the UK (Cornwall and Wales) are popular areas for people seeking to relocate and for those looking for a holiday home," said Halifax chief economist Martin Ellis. "These factors, combined with more affordable property than that available in the South East, have contributed to the substantial house price gains in the last ten years."

Counties – Ranked by % Change 1996 - 2006
County	Region	1996 Average price*	2006 Average price*	% change
Cornwall	South West	53,081	195,388	268%
Isle Of Anglesey	Wales	44,998	158,527	252%
Ceredigion	Wales	48,137	165,663	244%
Carmarthenshire	Wales	44,348	152,049	243%
Caerphilly	Wales	37,052	121,975	229%
Powys	Wales	53,463	172,199	222%
Isle Of Wight	South East	53,192	170,156	220%
Gwynedd	Wales	45,903	145,633	217%
Dorset	South West	65,679	208,335	217%
Monmouthshire	Wales	62,725	198,030	216%
East Sussex	South East	64,686	203,434	214%
Pembrokeshire	Wales	46,682	146,432	214%
Gloucestershire	South West	62,009	193,514	212%
Somerset	South West	58,739	183,277	212%
Shropshire	West Midlands	55,181	171,270	210%
Bridgend	Wales	45,759	141,045	208%
Flintshire	Wales	51,776	158,468	206%
Newport	Wales	46,262	141,575	206%
Cardiff	Wales	53,934	163,810	204%
Conwy	Wales	49,880	151,332	203%
Surrey	South East	98,566	298,835	203%
Herefordshire	West Midlands	63,058	190,588	202%
Neath Port Talbot	Wales	39,688	119,863	202%
Devon	South West	59,179	178,663	202%
Tyne And Wear	North	45,266	136,293	201%
Avon	South West	61,613	185,019	200%
Blaenau Gwent	Wales	30,884	92,718	200%
Lincolnshire	East Midlands	47,965	143,949	200%
Norfolk	East Anglia	52,803	157,961	199%
Kent	South East	69,665	208,184	199%
Essex	South East	69,936	208,738	198%
County Durham	North	41,861	124,888	198%
Derbyshire	East Midlands	50,942	151,831	198%
Rhondda, Cynon, Taff	Wales	38,543	114,600	197%
Swansea	Wales	47,566	141,093	197%
Leicestershire	East Midlands	53,214	157,762	196%
Warwickshire	West Midlands	62,442	183,861	194%
County Armagh	Northern Ireland	40,383	118,592	194%
County Antrim	Northern Ireland	43,308	126,949	193%
Suffolk	East Anglia	58,679	171,216	192%
Northumberland	North	49,685	144,335	191%
Bedfordshire	South East	62,920	181,632	189%
Cumbria	North	51,522	148,637	188%
Oxfordshire	South East	82,343	236,882	188%
North Yorkshire	Yorkshire & the Humber	64,446	185,048	187%
Hampshire	South East	68,943	197,668	187%
Berkshire	South East	86,177	246,460	186%
West Sussex	South East	76,304	218,139	186%
County Tyrone	Northern Ireland	41,693	119,108	186%
Northamptonshire	East Midlands	54,351	154,863	185%
County Down	Northern Ireland	50,440	142,903	183%
Cheshire	North West	64,273	179,994	180%
East Lothian	Scotland	63,598	178,051	180%
County Londonderry	Northern Ireland	44,720	125,058	180%
Merseyside	North West	51,030	142,692	180%
Hertfordshire	South East	89,470	249,824	179%
Lancashire	North West	48,187	134,271	179%
Buckinghamshire	South East	86,534	239,014	176%
Cambridgeshire	East Anglia	63,624	174,865	175%
South Yorkshire	Yorkshire & the Humber	45,729	125,031	173%
Denbighshire	Wales	50,573	138,102	173%
Wrexham	Wales	49,759	135,618	173%
Cleveland	North	47,637	129,173	171%
Midlothian	Scotland	62,218	168,396	171%
Nottinghamshire	East Midlands	50,763	137,385	171%
Worcestershire	West Midlands	65,966	178,133	170%
Wiltshire	South West	65,873	177,338	169%
Staffordshire	West Midlands	51,809	138,751	168%
Torfaen	Wales	44,099	117,650	167%
East Riding	Yorkshire & the Humber	47,145	125,594	166%
West Yorkshire	Yorkshire & the Humber	51,960	137,589	165%
West Midlands	West Midlands	55,884	147,364	164%
South Humberside	Yorkshire & the Humber	43,935	115,385	163%
The Vale Of Glamorgan	Wales	62,228	163,323	162%
Highland	Scotland	54,745	141,411	158%
East Renfrewshire	Scotland	74,886	192,075	156%
Glasgow City	Scotland	50,429	128,555	155%
Edinburgh, City Of	Scotland	70,471	179,494	155%
Stirling	Scotland	66,528	164,224	147%
West Lothian	Scotland	62,877	150,661	140%
South Lanarkshire	Scotland	52,833	125,517	138%
South Ayrshire	Scotland	58,406	138,306	137%
Merthyr Tydfil	Wales	45,109	106,743	137%
North Ayrshire	Scotland	46,061	107,942	134%
Perth and Kinross	Scotland	64,842	149,797	131%
Dumfries and Galloway	Scotland	52,220	119,458	129%
Angus	Scotland	54,669	124,266	127%
North Lanarkshire	Scotland	49,808	111,666	124%
Moray	Scotland	52,719	116,757	121%
Fife	Scotland	53,683	118,725	121%
West Dunbartonshire	Scotland	51,061	111,699	119%
East Ayrshire	Scotland	47,065	102,767	118%
Scottish Borders	Scotland	66,887	145,455	117%
East Dunbartonshire	Scotland	83,246	176,838	112%
Clackmannanshire	Scotland	51,479	108,508	111%
Inverclyde	Scotland	53,506	112,028	109%
Falkirk	Scotland	53,732	112,307	109%
Aberdeen City	Scotland	65,518	136,023	108%
Argyll and Bute	Scotland	61,641	125,873	104%
Renfrewshire	Scotland	56,835	115,801	104%
Dundee City	Scotland	51,084	103,756	103%
Aberdeenshire	Scotland	69,598	141,298	103%
*12 Months to March.