University towns see strong house price rises

Twenty university towns across the UK recorded an increase in house prices of 20% or more over the past year, close to double the nationwide increase of 11%, according to research from Halifax Estate Agents.

The best performing university town was Belfast, home of Queen's University, with a 47% rise in its average house price over the year to June 2007.

University towns, on average, saw an increase in house prices of 14% over the year to June 2007, comfortably outpacing the UK average.

House prices are higher in highly ranked university towns

The top 20 ranked universities trade at a premium of £25,852 (or 11%) to the average house price in their county. The top ranked university, Oxford, has an average house price of £328,241, a premium of £22,219 (or 7%), to the average house price in Oxfordshire. Cambridge, ranked second, has an average house price of £287,536, a premium of £76,288 (or 36%) to the average house price in Cambridgeshire.

The top 20 university towns also trade, on average, at a premium of £73,005 (or 37%) to the average UK house price. On average, university towns trade at a premium of £3,745 (or 2%) to the average house price in their county, with an average premium of £39,417 (or 20%) to the average UK house price.

Seven university towns record 50% or more house price rise over the past three years

Seven university towns have seen at least a 50% increase in average house prices over the past three years, double the UK average. Belfast was again the best performer with a 97% increase in its average price over the three years to June 2007. The next two best performers were in Scotland - Aberdeen (75%), and Dundee (64%) - followed by Tower Hamlets (61%) in London, home of East London University.

All University towns

Across all university towns surveyed the average increase in house prices over the past three years was 26%. This was slightly higher than the average increase across the UK as a whole over the period (25%).

Four of the ten best performing university towns and cities over the past three years are in Scotland: Aberdeen (75%), Dundee (64%), Paisley (51%) and Glasgow (40%). Three are in London with two in Yorkshire & the Humber (Bradford and Hull).

Seven of the ten best performing university towns over the past three years all trade at a discount to the average house in their county. The discount is biggest in Lewisham in London, home of Goldsmiths College.

The Top 20 Ranked Universities

The average rise in property prices across the top 20 ranked university cities and towns over the past year was 12%. This was slightly above the average for the UK as a whole of 11%.

Lambeth, home of Kings College, London, recorded the highest property price growth of any university area over the year to June 2007 (28%). Oxford saw the second biggest rise over the last year with a 25% increase.

Nottingham is the least expensive university town in the top 20 with an average house price of £155,072. Lancaster is the next least expensive of the top 20 university towns with an average house price of £155,668. Not surprisingly, the most expensive property prices are in London. Eight of the top 20 ranked universities trade at a discount to the average house price in their county and potentially offer good value for house buyers. The highest ranked universities to trade at a discount to their average county house prices are Bristol (-£1,625) and Coventry (-£9,244), home of Warwick University.

Colin Kemp, Managing Director of Halifax Estate Agents, commented: "More than one quarter of university towns have seen house price increases of at least 20% over the past year. University towns are popular choices for home movers because they usually have a wide range of local facilities, while investors have been attracted by the steady increase in university populations.

The best ranked university towns, including Oxford and Cambridge, tend to trade at a premium to surrounding towns but some of the top 20 ranked universities have lower house prices, including Coventry, home of Warwick University, and Bristol."