The league table confirms that 2003 has undoubtedly been the 'year of the north' – with Brighouse in West Yorkshire seeing the largest annual increase of 65%. The highest increase seen by a southern town was in Sawbridgeworth (Hertfordshire), which saw an annual increase of 39% (38th out of 634 in the league table).
Although northern towns have seen the largest increase in house prices, the highest house prices are still found in the south. The gap between prices in the north and south has narrowed over the past 12 months. At the end of 2002 the average property in the south cost 3 times as much as in the north (average price in the south was £205,773 compared to £68,493 in the north).
During 2003, the gap has narrowed and the average property in the south is around 2.3 times more expensive than in the north (average price in south is now £223,460 compared to £94,373 in the north). Over the past year, 49 towns in the north of England have broken the £100,000 average house price barrier for the first time.
Jane Pridgeon, Managing Director, Halifax Estate Agents, said:
"These figures confirm that 2003 has undoubtedly been the 'year of the north' and we expect this trend to continue in the coming 12 months although anticipate that annual house price growth will ease slightly in the north but still remain strong at around 17%. We expect to see an increase in UK house prices of around 8% next year, in line with the long term average.
Although there has been little change in the most expensive and least expensive towns across the UK, the most significant change over the past 12 months has been the narrowing of the gap between properties in the north and the south. This narrowing of the north/south divide will continue during 2004 before re-establishing itself in 2005."
