House price 'winners' over past year revealed

Cheltenham has been identified as the UK's biggest house price "winner" over the past year.

Nestled on the edge of the Cotswolds, Cheltenham saw the highest percentage rise in house prices of any major UK town or city in 2017, according research by Halifax.

House prices in Cheltenham increased at nearly five times the average UK rate during 2017, at 13% compared with 2.7% nationally.

The seaside town of Bournemouth on the south coast experienced the second biggest rise, with an increase of 11.7%, while Brighton on the south-east coast completed the top three with an 11.4% rise in the past year.

Fifteen of the top 20 house price performers over the past year are in London and southern England, Halifax said.

Huddersfield (9.3%), Nottingham (8.9%) and Lincoln (8.4%) along with Stockport (8.2%) and Swansea (7.7%) were the top performers outside London and the South.

Halifax used its own house price database to make the findings and its analysis of post towns included London local authorities.

Halifax managing director Russell Galley said: "A number of towns and cities have recorded significant rises in house prices over the past year, with all of the top 20 performers recording growth of at least double the national average.

"Unlike last year, the top performers are not exclusive to London and the South East, with the top spot now belonging to Cheltenham in the South West, and towns in East Anglia, East Midlands, North West, Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber also making the list."

At the other end of the spectrum, 13 towns recorded declines in house prices in 2017, with the largest fall in Perth in Scotland, at 5.3%.

Mr Galley said: "The majority of towns in which house prices have dropped in the last year are situated within Scotland or Yorkshire and the Humber."

Here are the top 20 towns with the biggest year-on-year increases in average house prices according to Halifax, with the average house price in 2017 followed by the increase in cash and percentage terms:

1. Cheltenham, South West, £313,150, £36,033, 13%
2. Bournemouth, South West, £273,687, £28,587, 11.7%
3. Brighton, South East, £374,662, £38,289, 11.4%
4. Crawley, South East, £323,660, £30,555, 10.4%
5. Newham, London, £402,781, £37,344, 10.2%
6. Peterborough, East Anglia, £220,623, £20,314, 10.1%
7. Gloucester, South West, £231,581, £20,152, 9.5%
8. Huddersfield, Yorkshire and the Humber, £186,988, £15,981, 9.3%
9. Exeter, South West, £273,874, £22,789, 9.1%
10. Nottingham, East Midlands, £193,397, £15,884, 8.9%
11. Gravesend, South East, £312,940, £25,396, 8.8%
12. Lincoln, East Midlands, £194,723, £15,053, 8.4%
13. Stockport, North West, £235,147, £17,736, 8.2%
14. Swindon, South West, £231,316, £16,683, 7.8%
=15. Redbridge, London, £475,148, £33,981, 7.7%
=15. Swansea, Wales, £164,895, £11,774, 7.7%
=15. Barnet, London, £584,049, £41,697, 7.7%
18. Richmond-upon-Thames, London, £646,112, £45,463, 7.6%
=19. Portsmouth, South East, £222,704, £15,508, 7.5%
=19. Grays, South East, £290,422, £20,145, 7.5%

And here are the 20 towns with the weakest year-on-year growth in average house prices, according to Halifax, with the average house price in 2017 followed by the change in cash and percentage terms:

1. Perth, Scotland, £180,687, minus £10,126, minus 5.3%
2. Stoke-on-Trent, West Midlands, £152,340, minus £6,402, minus 4%
3. Paisley, Scotland, £123,665, minus £4,593, minus 3.6%
4. Wakefield, Yorkshire and the Humber, £168,920, minus £5,076, minus 2.9%
=5. Rotherham, Yorkshire and the Humber, £140,364, minus £3,146, minus 2.2%
=5. Dunfermline, Scotland, £158,442, minus £3,535, minus 2.2%
7. Barnsley, Yorkshire and the Humber, £135,114, minus £2,238, minus 1.6%
8. Aberdeen, Scotland, £201,270, minus £2,155, minus 1.1%
9. Bromley, South East, £488,191, minus £3,192, minus 0.6%
=10. Bradford, Yorkshire and the Humber, £131,505, minus £514, minus 0.4%
=10. Leeds, Yorkshire and the Humber, £191,751, minus £728, minus 0.4%
=12. Hounslow, London, £438,497, minus £909, minus 0.2%
=12. Sunderland, North East, £144,085, minus £257, minus 0.2%
=14. Stevenage, South East, £297,737, £516, 0.2%
=14. Bolton, North West, £155,796, £330, 0.2%
16. Tower Hamlets, London, £493,855, £1,673, 0.3%
17. Harrow, London, £550,410, £3,493, 0.6%
=18. Reading, South East, £382,331, £2,636, 0.7%
=18. Bridgend, Wales, £159,091, £1,167, 0.7%
=18. Norwich, East Anglia, £239,135, £1,756, 0.7%.