The research highlighted the popularity of English market towns - 73 per cent of market towns have higher average house prices than the neighbouring towns in their county, while 70 per cent of market towns have seen stronger house price growth than the English average over the past five years.
The annual Halifax Market Town Review tracks house price movements in 111 market towns in England.
Market towns are defined as rural towns with a population of between 3,000 and 30,000. The review is based on Halifax's own housing statistics database, along with data from the Land Registry.
Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire is the only market town with an average price above £500,000. It is the most expensive market town with an average price of £574,211, followed by Winchcombe in Gloucestershire (£324,717) and Cranbrook in Kent (£317,290). Six of the ten most expensive market towns are in the South East of England.
Stanhope in County Durham has been the best performing market town over the past five years with a 152 per cent increase in its average house price, followed by Alford in Lincolnshire (147 per cent) and Saltburn by the Sea in County Durham (145 per cent). Nine of the ten best performing market towns since 2001 are outside the south of England – the exception being Helston in Cornwall (138 per cent).
Forty one market towns have seen a doubling of their average house price since June 2001. More than three quarters of these towns (34) are located outside the South of England. Overall, 78 market towns – 70 per cent of those surveyed - have seen stronger price growth than the English average of 72 per cent over the past five years.
The least expensive market town is Ferryhill in County Durham with an average house price of £70,932, followed by Immingham in North Lincolnshire (£99,336) and Crook in County Durham (£111,304). They are the only market towns with an average price below £100,000.
Key findings:
Thirty market towns in England have an average house price in excess of £250,000. Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire is the most expensive with an average price of £574,211 followed by Winchcombe in Gloucestershire (£324,717) and Cranbrook in Kent (£317,290).
Fifty-seven market towns have an average house price above £200,000. The majority of these towns are located in the South East (24) and the South West (12). The most expensive market towns in the north are Lymm in Cheshire (£279,442), Wetherby in West Yorkshire (£277,505), and Keswick in Cumbria (£260,496).
Twelve market towns trade at a premium of more than 50 per cent to the average house price in their county and nine of these are located outside the south of England. Four are located in the North West with three in Lancashire and one in Cheshire. The premium is largest in Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire (132 per cent) and Bakewell in Derbyshire (100 per cent).
Eighty one market towns (73 per cent) have an average house price above the average house price in their county.
77 market towns (69 per cent) have an average house price above the average house price in their region. All six market towns in the North West have an average price above the regional average, while four of the six market towns in the West Midlands trade above the regional average.
Eleven market towns have an average house price below £150,000. Five of the ten most inexpensive market towns are located in the North of England with four in County Durham and one in Northumberland. The least expensive market town is Ferryhill in County Durham with an average house price of £70,932, followed by Immingham in North Lincolnshire (£99,336) and Crook in County Durham (£111,304).
There are ten market towns which trade at a discount of 10 per cent or more to the average house price in their county. Four of these towns are in the South East – Didcot, Deal, Wantage and Faversham. The discount is largest in Ferryhill in County Durham (42 per cent), Immingham in North Lincolnshire (34 per cent) and Didcot in Oxfordshire (19 per cent).
Lymm in Cheshire saw a 20 per cent price increase over the past year
Over the past year the best performing market town was Lymm in Cheshire with a 20 per cent increase in its average house price. This was followed by Bakewell in Derbyshire (17 per cent) and Ferryhill in County Durham (17 per cent), the most inexpensive market town. Fourteen market towns have seen at least 10 per cent growth in their average house price over the past year with 12 of these in northern England.
Colin Kemp, at Halifax Estate Agents, commented: "Home buyers continue to be attracted to the high quality of life offered by market towns and are prepared to pay a premium to live there. Most market towns have higher house prices than other towns in their county and the majority have also seen stronger house price growth than the English average over the past five years."
