Wetherby tops list as home buyers pay £30,000 premium to live in a market town

THE wish to live in traditional English surroundings without the pitfalls of living out in the sticks has pushed property prices in a Yorkshire market town to the highest levels anywhere outside the South.Home buyers clinching a deal in Wetherby – centred in the Yorkshire triangle of Leeds, York and Harrogate – can expect to part with more than £300,000 new figures have revealed.

On average, homeowners are prepared to pay a 30,000 premium to live in an English market town, the research by Lloyds TSB suggests. A typical property in a market town costs around 231,163, 14 per cent or 29,319 more than the average for the county they are in.

Beaconsfield was top of the market, with properties selling for 145 per cent more than across Buckinghamshire as a whole, at an average 736,585.

All of the top 10 most expensive market towns are in the South, with Wetherby the most expensive market town outside of southern England, with average property prices of 311,140, 99 per cent more than the average for West Yorkshire.

At the other end of the scale, Ferryhill in Durham is the cheapest market town, with average prices of just 98,799. It is followed by Crook, at 107,769, and Immingham in Lincolnshire at 110,620.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Lloyds TSB, said: "Market towns are often particularly attractive for those looking to move into more idyllic surroundings without sacrificing many of the important amenities they currently enjoy."