Eighteen of the 20 counties with the strongest house prices increases since 1996 are in western Britain, with 13 in Wales, four in the south west and one in the west midlands, the Halifax has reported. The remaining two counties in the top 20 are both in the south east – the Isle of Wight and east Sussex.

The mortgage lender’s latest analysis shows that the 19 areas recording the smallest rise in average house prices in the last 10 years were in Scotland.

The average house price in the most expensive county is currently 3.2 times that in the least expensive county - the same as in 1996. In monetary terms, however, the gap has widened significantly from £67,682 in 1996 to £206,117 in 2006 – an increase of 138 per cent after the effects of inflation have been discounted.

Cornwall experienced the biggest house price rises over the period with a 268 per cent gain in the average price – up from £53,081 in 1996 to £195,388. All five of the next highest rises were in Wales: Anglesey (252 per cent), Ceredigion (244 per cent), Carmarthenshire (243 per cent), Caerphilly (229 per cent) and Powys (222 per cent).

The average house price has at least trebled since 1996 in almost one in three of the 104 counties analysed.

Aberdeenshire (103 per cent) and Dundee City (103 per cent) experienced the lowest average house price gains, followed by Argyll & Bute (104 per cent) and Renfrewshire (104 per cent).

Surrey, Hertfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire were the four most expensive counties in the UK in both 1996 and 2006. Despite not being among the top 20 counties for house price growth, Surrey remained the most expensive county with a current average price of £298,835.

Nine of the current 10 most expensive counties are in the south east, with Dorset in the south west being the exception. The 10 most expensive counties all have an average price in excess of £200,000.

The most expensive areas outside southern England are Monmouthshire (£198,030), East Renfrewshire (£192,075), Herefordshire (£190,588) and North Yorkshire (£185,048).

The 10 least expensive counties in the UK in 2006 are all in Scotland and Wales. Blaenau Gwent was the least expensive area in 1996 and remains so in 2006 with a current average house price of £92,718.

In 1996 no county had an average house price above £100,000 and 32 counties (31 per cent of the total) had an average price below £50,000. Currently, only Blaenau Gwent has an average price below £100,000 while 10 counties have an average price in excess of £200,000.

‘The last 10 years has clearly been the “decade of the west” with areas in Wales and the south west recording the strongest house price gains since 1996’, said Halifax chief economist Martin Ellis.

Both parts of the UK are popular areas for people seeking to relocate and for those looking for a holiday home. These factors, combined with more affordable property than that available in the south east, have contributed to the substantial house price gains in the last 10 years. But despite the west’s strong performance, property prices remain the highest in the south east with little change amongst those counties with the most expensive property since 1996’.

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