Most expensive cities revealed

Eight of the top 10 towns -with the highest house price growth on a per square metre (m²) basis over the last decade are in Scotland. Ellon in Aberdeenshire recorded the largest gain over the past ten years – an increase of 169% from £752 per m² in 2002 to £2,022 per m² in 2012. This rate of growth is four times more than the UK as a whole, where the average price has risen by 43% – up from £1,170 per m² to £1,668 per m² – since 2002. 

Strong economic growth over the decade as a whole has also helped to drive up prices in many of those areas that have seen substantial price gains.

The smallest price gain was in Newtonards in Northern Ireland where the average price per m² rose by 5% from £871 per m² to £915 per m². Lisburn saw the next smallest rise (8%), followed by Belfast (11%) and Newtonabbey (16%). [See Table 4]

There are three towns in southern England amongst the ten towns with the lowest increase in price per square meter; Chigwell in Essex (17%), Andover in Hampshire (19%) and Swindon (21%).(Table 4) 

Whilst the average price per m² has fallen in the UK by a fifth (21%) since 2007, 24 towns (including London boroughs) have bucked this trend and currently have a price that is higher than five years’ ago. The largest rises since 2007 have been in Ellon (26%), followed by five London boroughs; Islington (20%), Camden (17%), Westminster (16%), Hackney (13%) and Hammersmith and Fulham (12%).

Armagh in Northern Ireland has the largest average property size in the UK, at 153 m². Dunmow in Essex has the second highest average (141 m²).

Westminster has the smallest average property size in the UK, at 71 m²; less than 50% of the average in Armagh. Nine of the ten areas with the smallest average property size are in Greater London.

“House price per square metre is a useful measure for house price comparison because it helps to adjust for differences in the size and type of properties between locations,” said Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax.

“Several towns in Aberdeenshire have seen significantly higher growth in average price per m² than the UK average over the past decade; this, on the main, has been driven by the booming oil industry, which is a key part of the local economy.

“Westminster has the most expensive prices in the UK on a price per square metre. Interestingly, it also has the smallest average property size in the country. Not only has Westminster got one of the highest population densities per square kilometre among UK cities, but it also has a large proportion of properties that are flats”.

Table 1: Ten Most Expensive UK cities based on Price per Square Metre

Source: Halifax; 12 months to July

Table 2: Ten Least Expensive UK cities based on Price per Square Metre

Source: Halifax; 12 months to July

Table 3: UK Towns with the Biggest Price Increases (%) 2002-2012

Source: Halifax; 12 months to July

Table 4: UK Towns with the Smallest Price Increases (%) 2002-2012

Source: Halifax; 12 months to July