UK house prices shoot up in university towns

The price of property in the majority of the UK’s major university towns has doubled during the past five years, figures showed today.

Halifax Estate Agents said property prices in 10 of the 13 top university towns and cities outside of London had risen by more than the national average of 103% since 1999.

The group said parents were increasingly looking at buying investment properties for their children, as accommodation accounted for a substantial part of the cost of sending a child to university.

The biggest increase in prices was seen in Bath, where the cost of the average home soared by 156% to £258,379 (€381,400).

Strong rises were also recorded in Sheffield, with property prices increasing by 133%, while in York they are 130% higher than they were five years ago.

In Birmingham and Durham house prices moved up in line with the national average of 103%, while in Oxford and Cambridge they slightly under-performed at 99% and 100% respectively.

The group, which looked at house prices around the top 20 universities in the UK, said the lowest increase was seen in St Andrews, where the cost of property rose by 62% during the past five years, followed by London where it was up by 63%.