Following the A-Level results this week, many students will now be turning their attention to their new life at University - and with that where to live.

Halifax Estate Agents has been monitoring house prices in university towns for a number of years and have found that since 2000, house prices have risen by 83% nationally but in the towns where the top 20 performing universities are sited, figures were up an average 88%.

Top town is Manchester, with an average growth of 114% since 1999. Next is Bath where house prices rose by 113%. The third best performing location was York which saw a 109% rise in property prices over the last five years.

The average rise in property prices across the cities and towns of the top 20 performing universities over the past five years was 88% - slightly above the UK average of 83%.

Outside of the top 20 universities, the average house price rise in these areas over the period 2000-2005 was 100%. Buyers in Plymouth will have seen their property rise by the most, 131% on average, whilst buying property near institutions in central London will have delivered the lowest return at 55%.

But, it’s the northern cities and towns which outperformed those in the South with locations such as Newcastle (125%), Birmingham (108%) and Sheffield (107%), delivering house price growth well above the national average.

Colin Kemp, Managing Director of Halifax Estate Agents, said: “Rising house prices across the UK as a whole have helped parents buying property for their children in university towns and cities to enjoy excellent returns.

However, the decision to buy a property for a son or daughter at university should ultimately depend upon the parents personal circumstances and property prices around the university in question.”