The fall in house prices between 2007 and 2010 has improved affordability in Britain’s cities, according to analysis of data by Halifax.

The lender says £150,000 could now purchase a semi detached property in five out of the 10 largest British cities, compared to just one at the end of 2007.

Similarly, budget of £250,000 could now buy all property types in half of the 10 biggest cities in Great Britain, compared to two in 2007. London is the only major British city where the average price of all property types remains above £250,000.

Halifax also reported that over the last three years, property prices in towns located in southern England have generally outperformed the rest of the country, with seven of the 10 post towns with the highest house price growth since 2007 being in the south of England.

Westbury in Wiltshire saw the biggest increase in house prices, with the average house price increasing by 8.9% between 2007 and 2010. Shetland in Scotland (5.1%) and Barnstaple in Devon (4.2%) were the next best performers. In the North, Altrincham (3.3%) and Northallerton (3.0%) were among the ten best performers.

On the flip side, the eight towns that saw the biggest house price falls since 2007 are all in the North. The South Tyneside town of Jarrow saw the biggest fall, where the average house price fell by 31.4% over the period. Outside the North, Maidenhead in the South East recorded the largest house price decline (-27.1%).

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: “The higher performance of the housing market in southern England over the last three years reflects the stronger economic performance of this part of the country compared with the rest of the UK. Looking forward nationally