House prices rose by 4.1% in the year to September 2020 (Photos: Getty / Shutterstock)House prices rose by 4.1% in the year to September 2020 (Photos: Getty / Shutterstock)
House prices rose by 4.1% in the year to September 2020 (Photos: Getty / Shutterstock)

House prices: the 25 areas in England and Wales where average prices increased the most in the last year despite Covid

From Liverpool to Hartlepool, Birmingham to Barnsley, these neighbourhoods have outstripped all others in house price growth.

The coronavirus pandemic caused an unprecedented economic shock in the UK, closing businesses and putting people out of work left, right and centre.

But despite that, average house prices held up across England and Wales – even if there was a drop in sales.

Prices rose by 4.1% between October 2019 and September 2020 compared to the same period the year before, reaching an average of £310,782, according to the Office for National Statistics. Over that time, the volume of house sales fell by almost a quarter (24%).

The ONS also publishes house price figures by Middle Layer Super Output Areas (MSOAs) – small geographic areas containing an average population of 7,200 people.

These show 4,631 of the more than 7,000 MSOAs in England and Wales saw a rise in house prices over the same period.

Here we reveal which neighbourhoods saw the strongest growth in the year to September 2020.