The South fairs well post Housing Boom

House prices are higher than in 2007 in just two areas of the country according to the Halifax Average House Price database. 

The research that covers 377  local authority districts, shows only Rochford in Essex and South Lakeland as the areas in the UK where house prices are currently higher than they were in 2007 and then only by 1% and 0.1% respectively. 

The research demonstrates that, since the peak of the housing market in 2007 and the subsequent period of declining prices, homes throughout the UK are still short of those peak historical values. 

The list of 20 areas where prices have performed best since 2007  is dominated by areas in southern England with only four of the top 20 outside that part of the country. Three of these areas South Lakeland, Derbyshire Dales and Ceredigion are popular holiday areas where there is significant housing demand from retirees and second homebuyers. 

Aberdeenshire is the other area outside the south in the top 20. The market here has been supported by the buoyancy of the local oil industry, which has fared very well in the past few years. 

The nine worst performers in house price terms recently are all in Northern Ireland.  The biggest decline has been in Craigavon where the average price has more than halved from £213,844 in 2007 to £103,383 in 2011. Average prices in Northern Ireland were the highest in the UK outside London and the South East in 2007. Northern Ireland now has the lowest average prices of any region in the country.

 All the areas in the bottom 20 are outside Southern England.