New milestone in property price boom

House prices in every area of Britain have broken through the £100,000 mark for the first time, according to the country's largest mortgage lender.

Halifax said the average property price in every county is now above that mark, compared to just a third five years ago.

In 2001, house prices in only 38 of 101 counties averaged more than £100,000.

The data also shows that 19 counties now have an average selling price of more than £200,000: Five years ago, Surrey was the only one to boast such prices.

However, more northerly areas are catching up in the house price stakes, according to the figures.

Wales and Scotland top the table of property price growth over the past five years, being home to the 10 areas of most rapid growth.

Merthyr Tydfil in Wales recorded the biggest house price rise over that period.

A 175 per cent gain has taken the average price to £125,450 in 2006 from £45,578 in 2001.

Southern England has fared the worst: 90 per cent of the areas with the smallest price gains are in this part of the country.

Hampshire and Wiltshire recorded the lowest average house price gains in the past five years at 41 per cent, followed by Berkshire (42 per cent) and Oxfordshire (43 per cent).

Martin Ellis, chief economist at the Halifax, said: "Wales, Scotland and, to a lesser extent, Northern Ireland, have dominated the UK county league table for house price growth over the past five years.

"Southern England, by contrast, has lagged behind. "Much of the outperformance by these parts of the UK has been part of a catch-up process with the greater availability of more affordable property stimulating demand and, therefore, allowing prices to rise more quickly."

However, Surry remains the most expensive county in the UK, with an average property price of £328,453.

Blaenau Gwent in Wales remains the least expensive. Average property prices here stood at just £107,451 by the end of 2006, despite the area recording the second largest price rise in the past five years.

"It is noteworthy that counties in the South East have retained their position as the most expensive, whilst the least expensive counties continue to be in Scotland and Wales," said Ellis.

"Overall, there has been little change in the relative position of counties in the house price league over the past five years."