University town property prices 'up 50%'

According to the Halifax University Town House Price Review, 20 university towns saw average house price growth of at least 50 per cent in the last five years.

Halifax's review tracked house price movements in 64 university towns across the UK between June 2003 and June 2008 and also found that three towns witnessed average house prices increases of more than 100 per cent.

Belfast, Dundee, and Bangor saw increases of 105 per cent, 101 per cent and 100 per cent respectively while a further 20 grew more than 50 per cent.

The news could be of interest to anyone looking for a plot for a self build home that has growth potential.

Nitesh Patel, an economist at Halifax, said "over a third of the university towns" in the review experienced average house price growth of over 50 per cent in the last five years and a property in such areas would represent a "good investment".

In June, Newcastle University announced that Newcastle upon Tyne had been named as the top university town in the UK in a survey by accommodationforstudents.com.