Average house prices rose above £100,000 in every county in the UK for the first time last year.
But lending bank the Halifax reported that no county in the North had an average house price above £200,000, highlighting the North-South divide.
Martin Ellis, Halifax chief economist, said: "House prices rose most rapidly in counties outside the South during 2004, repeating the pattern in 2003.
''This has helped to reduce further the North/South house price divide. However, the housing market across the country has slowed significantly over the past six months as affordability considerations have begun to bite.
"There was a clear tendency for those counties experiencing the strongest price gain in 2004 to be the ones where average prices were among the least expensive in the country."
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