£25k property premium for top 20 university towns

The top 20 universities command an average premium of £25,852 on their property prices, compared with house prices across the rest of their county.

That is according research out today from Halifax, which finds property in 11 of the top 20 university locations costs more than the county average.

Across all universities, the Halifax study reveals 20 locations had a rise of at least 20 per cent, led by Queen's Belfast in Northern Ireland, which has seen its property prices soar by 47 per cent in the last year.

However, average property prices in the city, which reached £210,005 June 2007, are some of the cheapest among the university towns with the biggest annual rises. Only Aberdeen (£187,621) and Luton (£183,712) had cheaper property prices among the top 20.

After Belfast, the next 12 university town locations with the highest annual house price inflation are all in London or the south-east, with Thames Valley (up 35 per cent), Winchester (up 32 per cent), King's College (up 28 per cent) and Brunel (up 27 per cent) all in the top five.

"More than one quarter of university towns have seen house price increases of at least 20 per cent over the past year. University towns are popular choices for home movers because they usually have a wide range of local facilities, while investors have been attracted by the steady increase in university populations," commented Colin Kemp, Halifax Estate Agents managing director.

"The best ranked university towns, including Oxford and Cambridge, tend to trade at a premium to surrounding towns but some of the top 20 ranked universities have lower house prices, including Coventry, home of Warwick University, and Bristol."

Top 20 university towns with biggest growth in house prices over the last three years
1. Queen's, Belfast - 97%
2. Aberdeen - 75%
3. Dundee - 64%
4. East London - 61%
5. King's College London - 54%
6. Bradford - 51%
7. Paisley - 51%
8. Goldsmiths College - 43%
9. Hull - 41%
10. Glasgow - 40%
11. Greenwich - 38%
12. Bolton - 38%
13. Salford - 36%
14. London School of Economics - 36%
15. Manchester - 35%
16. Teesside - 34%
17. Thames Valley - 33%
18. Westminster - 33%
19. Huddersfield - 32%
20. Roehampton - 31%