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House prices show 187% increase

There has been a 187 per cent increase in property prices since the February 1996 housing market recovery, new research has shown.

Data from Halifax has discovered the average cost of a UK house has risen from £62,453 in the first quarter of 1996 to £179,425 in the third quarter of 2006.

This is an average increase of 10.6 per cent each year and a total increase of 187 per cent over the ten-year period.

Regional variations have seen London experience the largest house price increases with growth of 240 per cent while Scotland has seen the smallest increases at 110 per cent.

Cornwall was the best performing English county in the period with a 274 per cent rise in its average house price while, interestingly, six of the top ten performing counties are in Wales.

The report also found the long term outlook for the UK housing market to be sound with consecutive growth now recorded for the last 56 quarters.

Tim Crawford, Halifax group economist, said: "The premium for living in London has increased over the last ten years as the average property price in the capital has more than tripled. The south-west has emerged as a highly sought after destination, led by Cornwall.

"The housing market in Northern Ireland has seen well above average house price growth, led by Newry and Antrim, two of the five top performing towns in the UK since 1996."

30/10/2006 10:54:02

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