Market towns tops for house prices

3:06am Saturday 19th July 2008

Home-buyers are prepared to pay more for properties in market towns to benefit from the high quality of life the towns offer, research shows.

Homes in two-thirds of English market towns sell for more than those in neighbouring towns in the same county, according to Britain's biggest mortgage lender Halifax.

House price growth has also been faster in many market towns, with just over half of the 112 towns recording price rises of more than the 55% seen across England as a whole during the past five years.

Properties in Beaconsfield, in Buckinghamshire, command the largest premium, with homes there costing an average of 144% more than properties in other towns in the area.

Bakewell comes in second place, with homes here costing an average of 99% more than in the rest of Derbyshire, while in Southwell they are 93% more expensive than average prices in Nottinghamshire.

Overall 18 market towns trade at a premium of more than 50% to the average house price in their county.

Martin Ellis, Halifax chief economist, said: "Home-buyers continue to be attracted to the high quality of life, architecture, history, setting and community spirit 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. The majority have also seen stronger house price growth than the English average over the past five years."

Beaconsfield is also the most expensive market town in the country, with properties costing an average of £704,724.

A total of 19 market towns have average house prices of more than £300,000, with the South East dominating the top 10 most expensive towns.

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