House prices soar in university towns

With A-Level results finally out, and prospective freshmen now certain of where they will be headed, accommodation is top of many people's new lists of concerns.

Over recent years there has been an explosion in the number of students at the UK's universities, and this has led to a property boom in many of them as opportunistic investors and proud parents put money into buy-to-let property to cater for this need.

Halifax Estate Agents today reveals that house prices over the last five years in university towns and cities have responded by rising faster than average.

As well as rising house prices, rents are up as well.

Currently there are 1.3 million students at over 80 universities in the UK, meaning rental demand for student accommodation will remain strong. And ever-increasing student numbers mean rent rises in student towns have handily outstripped the national average.

"Rising house prices across the UK as a whole have helped parents buying property for their children in university towns and cities to enjoy excellent returns," said Colin Kemp, managing director of Halifax Estate Agents.

"However, the decision to buy a property for a son or daughter at university should ultimately depend upon the parents' personal circumstances and property prices around the university in question," he added.

Overall, the average house price increase in the UK's top university towns was higher than the rest of the UK. Halifax revealed that of the top 20 universities, Manchester has seen the largest growth in house prices in the last five years at 114 per cent.

And looking at the next 20 biggest universities in the UK, properties have risen on average by 100 per cent in the last five years, with buyers in Plymouth seeing the largest increase at 131 per cent.