House prices rise in uni towns

Belfast has seen the strongest growth, with the average cost of a home in the City soaring by 105% to £207,669 despite recent price falls, followed by Dundee at 101% and Bangor at 100%, according to Britain's biggest mortgage lender Halifax.

The top five were completed by Aberdeen and Bradford, which saw growth of 95% and 94% respectively, while a total of 18 other university towns recorded price rises of at least 50% during the period.

The group found that students pay an average of £96 a week for private rented accommodation in university towns.

Unsurprisingly, London is the most expensive place in which to rent digs at an average of £116 a week, while university towns in Northern Ireland were the cheapest at just £64 a week.

But in terms of house prices, Guildford, Surrey, is the most expensive university town, with average property prices of £363,503, followed by Winchester at £343,332 and Bath at £326,403.

All 10 of the most expensive student towns in which to buy property are in the South East.

Outside of southern England, Bangor has the highest house prices at an average of £245,855, followed by Warwick and Cheltenham.

At the other end of the scale, Hull is the least expensive university town, with homes costing just £124,108, despite house price increases of 79% during the five years to June 2008.

Eight other university towns have average house prices of less than £150,000, including Stoke-on-Trent, Bradford and Durham.