London's property market may be red hot, but one UK city has recorded stronger price growth than the capital in the past eight years.
House prices in Cambridge - home to some of the UK's most successful science and technology firms - have surged by 44.7pc since their 2007 peak.
This compares to a 44.4pc rise in London and growth of 37.4pc in third-placed Oxford, according to research firm Hometrack, which analysed 20 urban areas.
The average house in Cambridge costs £388,400, making the historic university city the UK's most expensive centre outside Greater London, where the average home costs £448,200, according to Hometrack.
Other surveys, which cover smaller areas around London, put average prices in the capital at more than £500,000.
Cambridge consistently ranks as one of the prettiest towns in the UK Photo: PHOTOLIBRARY.COM / ALAMY / GETTY IMAGES
Beautiful old buildings, world-class graduates plus a thriving technology and science industry means Cambridge is frequently ranked one of the UK’s most popular places to live. Data repeatedly suggest homes sell faster in Cambridge sell faster than in any other part of the country, with homes typically on the market for less than a month.
In the last year alone, prices have risen 10.7pc in Cambridge, although annual growth was outpaced by London and Oxford, where prices grew 12pc and 12.8pc respectively.
Hometrack's UK Cities House Price Index found that Belfast recorded the largest drop since the recession. House prices are down -47.2pc since their peak in 2007, with the average home costing £119,400.
House price growth since the recession, with current average house prices
|
Cambridge | 44.7% |
£388,400 |
|---|---|---|
| London |
44.4% |
£448,200 |
| Oxford |
37.4% |
£378,800 |
| Bristol |
17.7% |
£235,400 |
| Aberdeen |
13.3% |
£209,900 |
| Portsmouth |
10.8% |
£201,300 |
| Bournemouth |
10.2% |
£255,800 |
| Southampton |
10% |
£202,500 |
| Leicester |
3.8% |
£149,000 |
| Cardiff |
2.6% |
£178,700 |
| Nottingham |
1.9% |
£131,300 |
| Birmingham |
-1.6% |
£136,500 |
| Manchester |
-2.3% |
£141,200 |
| Sheffield |
-2.6% |
£124,400 |
| Edinburgh |
-2.6% |
£194,900 |
| Leeds |
-3.7% |
£146,900 |
| Newcastle |
-8.5% |
£120,700 |
| Glasgow |
-9.7% |
£110,500 |
| Liverpool |
-13.3% |
£109,900 |
| Belfast |
-47.2% |
£119,400 |
Liverpool has the lowest average house price of all the British cities covered by the index at £109,900. Despite a rise of 5.1pc in the past year, house prices in the North West city are still 13pc lower than the 2007 peak.
In terms of affordability, Oxford is thought to be the most unaffordable place in Britain in which to buy a house, according to a separate study. The city’s workers earn an average of £26,500 a year, compared to annual wages of £31,950 in London.
The Cities Index found the UK's cities are outperforming the wider housing market, recording annual house price growth of nearly 10pc. This compares to a UK-wide average of 6.1pc, according to ONS data published earlier this week.
Improving consumer confidence and low mortgage rates are boosting demand in cities such as Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool, where the housing market is only just beginning to recover from the recession.
Other regions are also flourishing. In the South West, Bristol, with its green parks and waterways, saw prices jump by 9.7pc in the past year alone, taking the average property price tag in the city to £235,400.