HOUSE prices in Darlington and Stockton are predicted to soar this year, according to the Nationwide Building Society.

Britain's biggest building society believes the housing market will be turned on its head in 2003 with many London boroughs and other parts of the South-East - where prices shot up in 2001/2 - experiencing falls in house prices.

However, for many Northern areas the outlook is brighter with price increases of 2002 continuing into 2003.

Among 20 local authority areas tipped to see house prices rise by more than 15pc is Darlington, where the average house price is £85,905 and Stockton where the average is £95,853.

Durham City also figures in the top 20 areas.

The turnaround, according to Nationwide, is due to employment in the North not being reliant on banking and finance like London and South-East.

These sectors of the economy are expected to have a hard time in the year ahead.

A building society spokesman said: "Vulnerable local authority areas are those which have above average employment in the banking and finance industries, so it's no surprise to see so many London boroughs on the list of areas where we believe prices will drop.

"Areas which do not rely on finance and banking and who have not seen rapid price increases are likely to be this year's property hot spots.

"Darlington and Stockton are good examples of this and that's why they are tipped to rise."

Selby in North Yorkshire saw the greatest price rises last year, with houses increasing in value by 66pc.

Among the slowest with only a 7pc rise recorded were Blackburn in Lancashire, Stirling in Scotland and Staffordshire Moorlands.

Across the country 1.6m homes changed hands - equivalent to 4,400 a day - the highest figure since 1989