Wolverhampton in top 10 worst places to buy a home

A study by the Halifax has shown that house price growth in the city is the ninth weakest in the country. Prices have only grown 0.5 per cent in the region for 2016, with average house prices at £173,761.

Prices in Aberdeen fell the furthest, dropping 6.9 per cent with the average home costing £203,425.

The information was gathered from Halifax's own database, which were subsquently used to make the findings.

Martin Ellis, a housing economist at Halifax, said: "A few towns have experienced price falls, with the biggest in Aberdeen.

"On the north east coast of Scotland, it is highly dependent on the North Sea oil and gas sector.

"The substantial fall in oil prices in the past couple of years has hit the industry hard with adverse impact on demand for homes in the area. Price declines elsewhere have been modest."

Councillor Peter Bilston, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for City Housing and Assets, said: "On one hand it shows that living in Wolverhampton is a good offer for people who want to come and buy here. The house prices are lower so there is the aspect of it being more affordable.

"There are lots of people looking to buy in Wolverhampton, and the council hopes to ease that demand with the building of new homes as part of WV Living, the new property company which is about to launch. Wolverhampton is very accessible for lots of different parts of the country.

" It's quite a challenge for people to get on the property ladder, but Wolverhampton does offer housing that is much more affordable than many other areas."

Completing the ten weakest house price growths were Bangor, Falkirk, Inverness, Blackpool , Londonderry, Stockton-on-Tees, Liverpool and Grimsby.

Luton was identified as the top-performing town across the UK for house price growth overall.

Property values there have jumped by nearly a fifth over 2016 and are nearly £42,000 higher typically than a year ago, with transport links to London thought to be a key factor in the increase.

The 7.5 per cent increase in Luton is more than double the average UK figure.

The average house price in the town is now £256,636, according to the figures.

The 10 areas with the highest house price rises over the last year were all in London or the South East of England, with Barking and Dagenham, Dunstable, Basildon, Tower Hamlets and Watford also on the list.

Mr Ellis added: "Most of the areas that have seen the biggest house price rises during 2016 are either within close commuting distance of the capital or in outer London.

"Demand in these areas has risen as substantial property price rises in central London over the last few years have caused increasing numbers of people to seek property in more affordable areas."