The Welsh county of Conwy recorded the biggest rise in house prices among all UK counties during 2010, according to the latest Halifax County House Price Survey.
Based on Halifax’s own house price data, the average house price in Conwy in North Wales has increased by 13% (£18,506) over the past year from £144,185 in 2009 to £162,691 in 20101. After Conwy, East Dunbartonshire (12%) and Dumfries and Galloway (11%) – both in Scotland – have seen the next biggest increases.
10 of the 20 counties delivering the highest house price growth in 2010 are in the South East or the South West. In contrast, just two counties in the North of England – Cheshire (5%) and County Durham (4%) – are in the top twenty.
Surrey is the most expensive county in the UK with an average house price of £296,344. 14 counties have an average house price in excess of £200,000.
Blaenau Gwent in Wales is the least expensive county in the UK with an average house price of £86,385.
Over the past five years, many of the counties delivering the highest house price growth are in Scotland. The best performing county was Aberdeenshire with the average house price in the Scottish county increasing by 46%. Seven of the top 10 are in Scotland with the remaining three all in Northern Ireland. English countries accounted for just three – Oxfordshire, Somerset and East Sussex – out of the 20 top performing counties.
Suren Thiru, housing economist at Halifax, said: “Many of the counties recording the best house price performance in 2010 are in the south of England
