Which cities' property prices rose the most in 2012?

Average London homes rose £28,000 over last 12 months underlining North-South property divide

The value of the average British home has gone up by £2,298 over the last year, according to Zoopla.co.uk, who now estimate the average British property value to be £228,226, up 1 per cent from £225,928 a year ago.

London's - and the South of England's in general - strong performance masks continued property price weakness elsewhere in Britain where average property values fell in seven of the eleven regions in 2012. Wales was the worst performing region. its average house prices dropping 3.1% over the past 12 months. Yorkshire and the Humber was close behind with a drop of 2.9% over the same period.

The worst performing areas in 2012 were Barnsley (a drop of 3.6 per cent, or £4,435) followed by Lincoln and Bradford (2.1 per cent and 2 per cent respectively). Outside London, Cambridge saw the biggest increase in house prices up 5.9 per cent (£18,026), followed by Plymouth and Derby up 4.9 per cent and 4.1 per cent.

“2012 has been a year of two halves," said Lawrence Hall of Zoopla.co.uk. "During the first half of the year the housing market showed strong signs followed by a weaker second half. And for the Southern half of the country, 2012 was a year of property price growth whilst for those in the other half of the country the picture was far less rosy.”

BEST PERFORMING CITIES DURING 2012

1. London

2. Cambridge

3. Plymouth

4. Derby

5. Bristol

6. Rotherham

7. Leicester

8. Middlesbrough

9. Reading

10. Norwich

WORST PERFORMING CITIES DURING 2012

1. Barnsley

2. Lincoln

3. Bradford

4. Bournemouth

5. Warrington

6. Bolton

7. Wolverhampton

8. Nottingham

9. Doncaster

10. Stoke-on-Trent