Buying a home in a market town will cost 25,000 more than county average Beaconsfield has the largest house price premium with homes trading at over 500,000 above the county average. The average premium for market towns compared to their county average is 24,766. prices in market towns have risen by an average of 505 per month in past decade. Ferryhill in County Durham is the most affordable market town with an average house price of 85,763. From wanting to be close to the countryside to escaping from the city, there is a premium attached to living in a market town. prices in market towns are on average 24,766 (12%) higher than their county, according to research from Lloyds Bank. Two out of three market towns in England have an average house price that is above their county average. Close to the Chiltern Hills and within the London commuter belt, Beaconsfield in South Buckinghamshire has the largest house price premium with homes trading at 156% (or 501,648) above the county average. Wetherby has the next highest premium with prices 99% ( 157,016) above the West Yorkshire average, followed by Bakewell in the Derbyshire Peaks (88% or 147,224). One in eight market towns in the survey have a house price premium of at least 100,000. (See Table 1) Ten of the most expensive market towns are in southern England Beaconsfield is the most expensive English market town with an average house price of 822,753. Petersfield in Hampshire ( 402,216) and Cranbrook in Kent ( 393,778) are the next most expensive market towns in England. Outside southern England, Bakewell is the most expensive market town with an average property value of 314,966. (See Table 2) Three of the top five least expensive market towns are in County Durham; Ferryhill with an average house price of 85,763, followed by Crook ( 106,591) and Stanhope ( 128,114). The other towns include Immingham ( 110,565) and Tickhill ( 133,550). (See Table 3) Andy Hulme, Mortgages Director at Lloyds Bank, said: "Market towns are important hubs of social interaction and cohesion, as well as providers of employment and support for local business. Market towns are also, in most cases, very attractive places to live. This is reflected in the majority of market towns having
higher property prices than their surrounding counties a premium that increased in the past decade. "Home buyers continue to be attracted to the high quality of life, architecture, history, setting and community spirit offered by market towns and are prepared to pay a premium to live there." prices in market towns have risen by an average of 505 per month in past decade The average house price in market towns across England has risen by 60,586 or 34% from 179,535 in 2004 to 240,121 in 2014. This is equivalent to an average rise of 505 per month over the past decade. Two market towns have seen house prices grow by more than 50% since 2004 The biggest increase in prices over the past decade was in Ferryhill where the average price rose by 76% from 48,743 to 85,763. Ferryhill is followed by Saffron Walden in Essex (59%). Lewes on the south coast (48%), Beaconsfield, Midhurst in West Sussex, Berwick upon Tweed and Yately in Hampshire (all 47%) saw the next biggest rises. (See Table 4) Nine out of ten market towns have seen prices rise since 2009 house prices have risen in nine out of ten market towns since the bottom of the housing market in 2009. Contrary to the decade as whole, it has been market towns in the south that have performed best in the past few years. Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire recorded the largest price growth in the past five years (37%), followed by Saffron Walden (36%) and Yateley (36%). The average price growth since 2009 for all market towns in the survey was 13%. (See Table 5) -ends- Data sources: This survey tracks house price movements in 113 market towns in England. The market towns surveyed are those identified by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and all have a population of between 3,000 and 30,000. The review is based on data from the Land Registry. price data is from the Land Registry and all price figures refer to the arithmetic average of house prices. The latest data refers to the average for the 12 months to August 2014. These prices are not standardised and therefore can be affected by changes in the sample from year to year. Southern England is defined as the South East, the South West and East Anglia. Northern England includes the North, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, West Midlands and East Midlands.
Table 1: 10 s with Highest Premium to County Prices Price in Market town 2014* ( ) Price in County 2014* ( ) Premium to County % Beaconsfield South East 822,753 321,105 156% Yorkshire and the Wetherby Humber 314,863 157,847 99% Bakewell East Midlands 314,996 167,772 88% Southwell East Midlands 279,353 152,770 83% Middleton St George North 219,748 127,531 72% Keswick North 278,079 167,241 66% Longridge North West 231,156 142,262 62% Winchcombe South West 386,613 240,497 61% Carnforth North West 224,095 142,262 58% Petersfield South East 402,216 259,120 55% All s in England 240,121 215,355 12% Table 2: 10 Most Expensive s Price 2014* ( ) Beaconsfield South East 822,753 Petersfield South East 402,216 Cranbrook South East 393,778 Midhurst South East 393,648 Winchcombe South West 386,613 Lewes South East 384,545 Saffron Walden South East 381,915 Ringwood South East 375,218 Hertford South East 355,162 Chipping Norton South East 351,981 Table 3: 10 Least Expensive s Price 2014* ( ) Ferryhill North 85,763 Crook North 106,591 Immingham Yorkshire and the Humber 110,565
Stanhope North 128,114 Tickhill East Midlands 133,550 Saltburn North 137,338 Boston East Midlands 141,872 Marsden Yorkshire and the Humber 146,207 Leek West Midlands 146,927 Goole Yorkshire and the Humber 148,019 Table 4: 10 s with Biggest Price Growth 2004-2014 Price 2004* ( ) 10 Year % Ferryhill North 48,743 85,763 76% Saffron Walden South East 239,841 381,915 59% Lewes South East 259,308 384,545 48% Beaconsfield South East 557,937 822,753 47% Midhurst South East 267,618 393,648 47% Berwick upon Tweed North 119,064 175,048 47% Yateley South East 215,077 315,360 47% Didcot South East 185,740 271,369 46% Hertford South East 243,502 355,162 46% Petersfield South East 275,798 402,216 46% All s in England 179,535 240,121 34% Table 5: Best Performing s 2009-2014 Price 2009* ( ) 5 Year % Beaconsfield South East 600,160 822,753 37% Saffron Walden South East 280,387 381,915 36% Yateley South East 232,020 315,360 36% Malmesbury South West 247,329 331,525 34% Wantage South East 233,400 309,126 32% Midhurst South East 299,476 393,648 31% Horsham South East 255,434 332,563 30% Ampthill East Midlands 217,526 281,896 30% Didcot South East 211,721 271,369 28% Hitchin South East 236,133 301,304 28% 211,614 240,121 13%
Table 5: Best Performing s 2013-2014 Price 2013* ( ) 1 Year % Middleton St George North 177,716 219,748 24% Fairford South West 260,320 311,969 20% Malmesbury South West 284,194 331,525 17% Midhurst South East 339,426 393,648 16% Wotton-Under-Edge South West 242,900 279,877 15% Sandwich South East 220,008 251,909 14% Berwick upon Tweed North 153,170 175,048 14% Yateley South East 276,862 315,360 14% Shepton Mallet South West 207,662 235,746 14% Framlingham East Anglia 269,389 305,063 13% 230,621 240,121 4% Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of Land Registry under delegated authority from the Controller of HMSO. Viewers of this Information are granted permission to access this Crown copyright material and to download it onto electronic, magnetic, optical or similar storage media provided that such activities are for private research, study or in-house use only. Any other use of the material requires the formal written permission of Land Registry which can be requested from us, and is subject to an additional licence and associated charge. For further information Chris Tuttlebee 0207 356 1343 / 07850 723184 christopher.tuttlebee@lloydsbanking.com Siobhan McCluskey 020 7661 4669 / 07795 611 179 Siobhan.McCluskey@lloydsbanking.com "This report is prepared from information that we believe is collated with care, however, it is only intended to highlight issues and it is not intended to be comprehensive. We reserve the right to vary our methodology and to edit or discontinue/withdraw this, or any other report. Any use of this report for an individual's own or third party commercial purposes is done entirely at the risk of the person making such use and solely the responsibility of the person or persons making such reliance. Lloyds Bank plc all rights reserved 2014."