Two-thirds (67%) of market towns have a higher average house price than the neighbouring towns in their county according to new research from Halifax.

Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire has the largest premium with houses trading at a premium of 144% to the average house price in the county. Beaconsfield is followed by Bakewell (where house prices trade at a premium of 99% to the Derbyshire county average) and Southwell (93% above the Nottinghamshire average).

Bakewell in the East Midlands is the most expensive market town outside southern England with an average house price of £331,117 in March 2008. Twenty one of the 25 most expensive market towns in England are in the south.

There are 76 market towns in England where the average house price was above £200,000 in March 2008. Forty six (60%) of these towns are in southern England. The remaining 30 (40%) market towns are roughly equally spread out across the midlands and northern England.

At the other end of the scale, Ferryhill in Durham is the least expensive market town in England with an average house price of £84,892 in March 2008. Ferryhill is also the only town in the survey with an average house price below £100,000; however, the average price in this market town rose by 99% over the past five years, Halifax added.

Only five other market towns had an average house price below £150,000 in March 2008. These are Immingham in East Riding (£108,161), Crook (£114,695) and Saltburn (£140,524) - both in Durham - Tickhill in South Yorkshire (£143,261) and Boston in Lincolnshire (£146,503).

North best for house price growth
The majority of the 25 market towns with the strongest house price growth over the last five years are in northern3England. Framlingham and Beccles - both in East Anglia - are the only two in the top 25 in southern England.

Seahouses and Saltburn both recorded average house price growth of 111%. In Seahouses, average price rose from £96,290 in March 2003 to £203,061 in March 2008, whilst in Saltburn average prices increased from £66,712 to £140,524.

Average price increases in Seahouses and Saltburn were double the average increase recorded for England of 55%. Over half of the market towns (60 out of 112) in this survey recorded an average price increase above that for England as a whole. Six other market towns saw prices rise by over 90% over the past five years; Ferryhill (99%), Marsden (98%), Goole (98%), Immingham (96%), Berwick upon Tweed (94%) and Drffield (93%).

Martin Ellis Chief Economist at Halifax said: “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. Most market towns have higher house prices than other towns in their county. The majority have also seen stronger house price growth than the English average over the past five years.”

25 Most Expensive Market Towns (March 2008)

Market Town	County	Region	Average House Price 2008 *
Beaconsfield	Buckinghamshire	South East	704,724
Ringwood	Hampshire	South East	380,301
Winchcombe	Gloucestershire	South West	371,796
Cranbrook	Kent	South East	365,171
Malmesbury	Wiltshire	South West	359,212
Lewes	Sussex	South East	351,628
West Malling	Kent	South East	341,762
Kingsbridge	Devon	South West	336,964
Midhurst	Sussex	South East	335,885
Petersfield	Hampshire	South East	332,537
Bakewell	Derbyshire	East Midlands	331,117
Tenterden	Kent	South East	325,229
Romsey	Hampshire	South East	324,943
Chipping Norton	Oxfordshire	South East	324,656
Framlingham	Suffolk	East Anglia	318,820
Wimborne	Dorset	South West	308,205
Keswick	Cumbria	North	306,515
Easingwold	North Yorkshire	Yorkshire and the  Humber	301,929
Tetbury	Gloucestershire	South West	300,724
Chichester	Sussex	South East	299,878
Horsham	Sussex	South East	299,261
Hertford	Hertfordshire	South East	299,007
Cirencester	Gloucestershire	South West	298,461
Wetherby	West Yorkshire	Yorkshire and Humber	297,081
Saffron Walden	Essex	South East	296,301