Milton Keynes, which is commemorating its 50th anniversary, has been the top performing new town in terms of house price growth over the past three decades.
According to a new survey by Halifax, average price in the Buckinghamshire town has risen by 601% since 1986 to £309,415.
Telford in Shropshire (586%), Corby in Northamptonshire (561%), and the North West towns of Warrington (559%) and Skelmersdale (551%), make up the five top performing new towns since 1986.
Milton Keynes, Telford, Corby and Warrington have all recorded price growth in excess of the national average increase of 554% during this period. New towns overall, however, have slightly underperformed in comparison with an average rise of 520%.
Eight of the 26 new towns analysed now have an average house price above the average for their region. Northampton has the highest price premium to its region with the average price in the town of £228,014, almost a fifth higher (19%) than the East Midlands average of £192,273.
Whilst no new towns have been started since the 1960s, the Government has announced plans to create 14 new garden villages in England of between 1,500 to 10,000 houses.
New towns have generally performed relatively well over the past decade with an average price rise of 32% compared with the national average increase of 26%.
The nine top performing new towns between 2006 and 2016 are all in the South East and have all recorded price gains above both national average (26%) and the regional average (36%). Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire (67%) has been the strongest performer, followed by its near neighbours, Stevenage (58%) & Hemel Hempstead (55%).
Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: “Milton Keynes has been the best performing of all the new towns created following the Second World War in terms of house price performance since 1986.
“Many of these new towns are within easy commuting distance of major commercial centres, where property is typically more expensive, particularly in the South East, where the average property price is well below that in London. This makes them a highly popular choice with homebuyers, explaining their relatively good house price performance, and this popularity has been particularly notable during the last decade.
“The recently announced planned new wave of garden villages and garden towns picks up where new towns finished many years ago. These new developments could help provide much needed homes to house the country’s increasing number of households, helping to address the housing shortage.”
House prices in new towns, 1986-2016
| Town | Region | Average House Price 1986 | Average House Price 2006 | Average House Price 2016 | 10 year % change | 30 year % change |
| Milton Keynes | South East | £44,155 | £207,129 | £309,415 | 49% | 601% |
| Telford | West Midlands | £26,030 | £168,730 | £178,568 | 6% | 586% |
| Corby | East Midlands | £26,264 | £144,616 | £173,633 | 20% | 561% |
| Warrington | North West | £30,058 | £166,527 | £198,106 | 19% | 559% |
| Skelmersdale | North West | £21,260 | £147,804 | £138,466 | -6% | 551% |
| Northampton | East Midlands | £35,401 | £186,178 | £228,014 | 22% | 544% |
| Redditch | West Midlands | £33,847 | £174,627 | £210,149 | 20% | 521% |
| Welwyn Garden City | South East | £59,651 | £217,681 | £362,656 | 67% | 508% |
| Bracknell | South East | £61,192 | £236,960 | £365,874 | 54% | 498% |
| Peterborough | East Anglia | £34,787 | £166,434 | £200,589 | 21% | 477% |
| Hemel Hempstead | South East | £61,216 | £225,251 | £350,183 | 55% | 472% |
| Stevenage | South East | £52,353 | £188,482 | 297,238 | 58% | 468% |
| Peterlee | North | £22,345 | £108,770 | 126,066 | 16% | 464% |
| Basildon | South East | £45,576 | £166,101 | £256,060 | 54% | 462% |
| Harlow | South East | £49,987 | £184,362 | £280,592 | 52% | 461% |
| Hatfield | South East | £68,032 | £269,390 | £370,960 | 38% | 445% |
| Washington | North | £27,633 | £133,678 | £148,635 | 11% | 438% |
| Livingston | Scotland | 30,823 | 146,451 | 161,184 | 10% | 423% |
| Newton Aycliffe | North | £30,428 | £136,005 | £157,625 | 16% | 418% |
| Crawley | South East | £58,115 | £209,504 | £296,542 | 42% | 410% |
| East Kilbride | Scotland | £29,822 | £144,295 | £150,785 | 4% | 406% |
| Cumbernauld | Scotland | £25,335 | £127,879 | £127,764 | 0% | 404% |
| Runcorn | North West | £24,820 | £134,473 | £121,795 | -9% | 391% |
| Cwmbran | Wales | £32,663 | £127,082 | £159,294 | 25% | 388% |
| Glenrothes | Scotland | £25,393 | £133,245 | £114,583 | -14% | 351% |
| Irvine | Scotland | £27,905 | £121,098 | £122,469 | 1% | 339% |
| New town average | £36,949 | £173,337 | 228,902 | 32% | 520% | |
| Great Britain | £38,467 | £200,059 | £251,679 | 26% | 554% |
Source: Halifax, 12 months to December
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