Average house price passes £100k nationwide

The unstoppable housing market has reached another landmark - for the first time, the average price of a home in every town in the UK is above £100,000.

New research from Halifax, Britain's biggest mortgage lender, shows Lochgelly in Fife was the only place with an average property price below six figures at the end of last year. Since then, however, the average price in the town has risen to £104,738.

Originally a mining town, Lochgelly slumped into economic and social deprivation when the industry collapsed and is now a key target for regeneration. Despite breaking the £100,000 barrier, it still has the cheapest housing of all the 489 towns surveyed by Halifax.

The news will add to growing concerns that thousands of key workers and first-time buyers are being priced out of the market. A recent report showed 99 per cent of towns are unaffordable for a nurse on a typical salary.

The report revealed another milestone. For the first time, the 10 towns that have seen the biggest house price rises during the last 12 months are all in the same area - Northern Ireland. Craigavon in County Armagh and Newtownards in County Down are the UK's property hotspots, both clocking up a 55 per cent rise in prices in the past year.

The average price in Northern Ireland broke through the £200,000 barrier in the first quarter, boosted by a strong local economy, high levels of immigration and high demand for properties from second homebuyers and buy-to-let investors.

In England, meanwhile, the traditional north-south divide has re-emerged over the past year, with the most rapid price rises in London (14.9 per cent), the South West (14.1 per cent) and the South East (11.9 per cent). By contrast, house price inflation has eased in the North (5.6 per cent).

Martin Ellis, Halifax's chief economist, said prices continued to rise in a tight market, but there were emerging signs that pressure on householders' finances, partly due to higher interest rates, was dampening housing demand. Overall, house prices increased by 2.8 per cent in the first three months of the year against 4.2 per cent in the previous quarter.

"We expect the higher level of interest rates, negative real earnings growth and above-inflation council tax bill increases to lead to slower house price growth over the coming months," said Mr Ellis. "Sound economic fundamentals and an ongoing shortage of housing supply will, however, continue to support house prices."