Brighton: a property speculator's dream

Brighton & Hove was the most profitable place to buy a home last year, a survey from the Nationwide building society revealed yesterday.

Brighton & Hove was the most profitable place to buy a home last year, a survey from the Nationwide building society revealed yesterday.

House prices in the Sussex seaside resort surged 38 per cent in the year to June, compared with an average rise of 16 per cent across the country.

The survey results reflect the effect of an influx of workers attracted by the booming local economy. A report earlier this year found that Brighton was the most profitable townin the UK, thanks to the growth in new media and hi-tech industries.

Most of the 10 largest house-price rises were in southern England and included two of the poorest parts of London. Prices rose 37 per cent in Lewisham, south London, despite the area having the second worst unemployment rate in the country at 13.4 per cent. Waltham Forest, with a jobless rate of 11.4 per cent, saw prices rise by 35 per cent.

Most of the worst-performing regions were in the North and Midlands with Sedgefield and Hartlepool falling 19 per cent, Bolsover 15 per cent and Mansfield 14 per cent.

Nationwide said the property boom was over with the market peaking in April with an annual increase of 17.5 per cent: "The recent slowdown in house price inflation was both expected and good news. We now expect it will return gradually to a more sustainable pace."

The company forecast thathouse price inflation will fall back to 14 per cent by the end of the year. It said it did not believe there was any reason for the market to crash but added: "We acknowledge that the recent slowdown could intensify and if it does then we will revise our forecast down in the coming months."