Go Direct News Halifax County House Price Survey of the UK

24 Nov 2024

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Halifax County House Price Survey of the UK

The annual Halifax County House Price Survey of the UK is compiled using information sourced from the company's own extensive housing statistics database. Halifax is the UK's largest mortgages provider and publishes the longest running monthly house price index in the UK. The unitary authorities of Scotland and Wales are referred to as counties for the purposes of this study.

WALES AND SCOTLAND DOMINATE THE COUNTY HOUSE PRICE TABLE OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS

New Halifax research shows that no county now has an average price below £100,000. This is the first year that this has been the case. In 2001, nearly two in three counties – 63 out of 101 - had an average price below £100,000.

The ten counties that have delivered the highest house price growth over the past five years are all in Wales and Scotland. (The unitary authorities of Scotland and Wales are referred to as counties for the purposes of this research.) Nine of the ten counties recording the smallest price gains over the same period are in southern England.

Nineteen counties had an average price in excess of £200,000 in 2006. Five years ago, Surrey was the only county with an average price above £200,000.

Biggest House Price Increases 2001-2006

Merthyr Tydfil has recorded the biggest house price rises over the past five years with a 175% gain, taking the average price from £45,578 in 2001 to £125,450 in 2006.

The next five best performers during the past five years were also all in Wales: Blaenau Gwent (160%), Carmarthenshire (156%), Isle of Anglesey (143%), Rhondda, Cynon, Taff (138%) and Conwy (136%).

The top performing counties in England between 2001 and 2006 are County Durham (127%) and the East Riding of Yorkshire (121%).

The average house price has more than doubled since 2001 in nearly one in two counties (48 out of 101).

No county in southern England has seen prices double since 2001 with Cornwall (95%) and Devon (78%) recording the biggest price rises over the period.

Smallest House Price Gains 2001-2006

Seven counties have experienced house price rises of 50% or less since 2001. All these counties are in the South East and South West.

Hampshire and Wiltshire (both 41%) have recorded the lowest average house price gains in the past five years followed by Berkshire (42%) and Oxfordshire (43%).

Most Expensive Counties

Surrey remains the most expensive county in the UK with an average price in 2006 of £328,453.

Surrey, Hertfordshire and Berkshire were the three most expensive counties in the UK in both 2001 and 2006. These three counties, together with Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, comprised the five most expensive counties in the UK both now and five years ago.

Nine of the ten most expensive counties in 2006 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 (£208,038), Warwickshire (£206,024), Edinburgh (£202,545) and North Yorkshire (£202,477).

Least Expensive Counties

Blaenau Gwent remains the least expensive county in the UK with an average house price in 2006 of £107,451 (£41,352 in 2001) despite recording the second biggest rise in average house prices in the UK over the five years.

Nine of the ten least expensive counties in the UK in 2006 are in Scotland (6) and Wales (3). In 2001, five of the least expensive areas were in Scotland with four in Wales.

Commenting, Martin Ellis, chief economist, said:

"Wales, Scotland and, to a lesser extent, Northern Ireland, have dominated the UK county league table for house price growth over the past five years. Southern England, by contrast, has lagged behind. Much of the outperformance by these parts of the UK has been part of a catch-up process with the greater availability of more affordable property stimulating demand and therefore allowing prices to rise more quickly.

It is noteworthy that counties in the South East have retained their position as the most expensive whilst the least expensive counties continue to be in Scotland and Wales. Overall, there has been little change in the relative position of counties in the house price league over the past five years."

Editors' Notes:

The prices quoted in this release are taken from the Halifax House Price database and refer to calendar year averages. Prices are arithmetic average prices of houses - otherwise known as crude averages - on which an offer of mortgages has been granted. These prices are not standardised and therefore can be affected by changes in the sample from year to year – as such care should be taken when comparing prices. Figures include properties sold for £1 million plus.

"This report is prepared from information that we believe is collated with care, however, it is only intended to highlight issues and it is not intended to be comprehensive. We reserve the right to vary our methodology and to edit or discontinue/withdraw this, or any other report. Any use of this report for an individual's own or third party commercial purposes is done entirely at the risk of the person making such use and solely the responsibility of the person or persons making such reliance. © HBOS plc all rights reserved 2006"

Table 1: Counties – Ranked by % Change 2001- 2006

County (unitary authorities in Scotland and Wales)	Region	2001 Average Price	2006 Average Price	% change
Merthyr Tydfil	Wales	45,578	125,450	Scotland	104,386	181,380	74%
Somerset	South West	118,473	203,336	72%
East Renfrewshire	Scotland	111,746	191,596	71%
Herefordshire	West Midlands	116,962	199,628	71%
Monmouthshire	Wales	122,972	208,038	69%
Cambridgeshire	East Anglia	118,339	199,074	68%
Cheshire	North West	112,502	188,976	68%
Suffolk	East Anglia	114,296	190,943	67%
Isle Of Wight	South East	110,556	183,040	66%
Cardiff	Wales	101,870	168,619	66%
Northamptonshire	East Midlands	106,608	175,112	64%
Norfolk	East Anglia	104,167	170,422	64%
Dorset	South West	141,473	231,109	63%
Warwickshire	West Midlands	126,845	206,024	62%
Gloucestershire	South West	131,099	209,312	60%
Avon	South West	128,542	204,075	59%
East Sussex	South East	146,514	231,323	58%
Kent	South East	147,508	230,164	56%
Essex	South East	143,176	223,035	56%
Bedfordshire	South East	128,474	198,756	55%
Worcestershire	West Midlands	127,363	195,363	53%
West Sussex	South East	161,641	247,681	53%
Surrey	South East	218,972	328,453	50%
Buckinghamshire	South East	185,037	272,118	47%
Hertfordshire	South East	193,616	283,357	46%
Oxfordshire	South East	187,518	269,075	43%
Berkshire	South East	197,530	279,779	42%
Wiltshire	South West	135,625	191,856	41%
Hampshire	South East	152,992	216,371	41%

YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE

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