House prices are rising faster in cities in the north of England and parts of Scotland than they are in the economically dominant south of the country, new figures from property market analyst Hometrack show.

While the gap in the average value of property between North and South is still huge, it has narrowed. Booming prices in the likes of Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester far outpaced the growth in London and other southern cities.

Glasgow topped the league table, with prices up 5.2 per cent during May, June and July. Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff also did well and show "no imminent sign of slowdown", Hometrack says.

Their analysis says these areas benefited from high yields on rental properties, increased affordability and low mortgage rates. The firm expects the annual growth rate there to be around seven per cent.

But it was a very different picture over the same three months in the south. London recorded the weakest growth it has enjoyed for 17 months, with prices up by just 2.1 per cent on the previous quarter. In Cambridge, where the market has boomed for months, prices actually fell by one per cent.

And the size of the market meant London and other southern enclaves dragged the overall UK rate down, creating a "marked slowdown in house price growth", says Hometrack.

After 12 months of higher growth, the annual increase across the UK's 20 biggest cities was down to just 9.5 per cent, says the analyst.

Mortgage provider Nationwide reported in April that gap in house prices between North and South had widened to a record extent.

The average house for sale in the north of England was then worth almost £163,000 less than the average in the south of the country - less than half the price, the BBC said.

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