HOUSE prices in market towns across the region have more than doubled in the past decade, according to a report out today.

Stanhope, in Weardale, County Durham, enjoyed the biggest house price rise of all the 112 places surveyed in terms of the percentage increase over ten years.

Lloyds TSB found that houses were worth about £57,502 there in 2001 – but increased in value by 158 per cent to reach £148,264 this year.

Also in County Durham, Ferryhill appears on two seemingly contradictory lists.

With houses typically costing £89,446, it is the cheapest English market town to live in.

But it also enjoyed the second biggest house price rise of those surveyed, with average prices there standing at only £35,102 in 2001.

Peter Clark, a Ferryhill estate agent, said: “The figures are a bit misleading. I’d say the main core of properties have been stable and in line with national trends.

“Specific areas that had been neglected for many years have been cleared under government regeneration programmes.

“While these may have reflected some very cheap houses, it probably gives an unfair picture of the area as most has been redeveloped now.

“There has been some new housing, along with real improvements in the town, so it has a lot going for it.”

Crook, also in County Durham, is the third least expensive market town in England with an average house price of £111,764.

Across England, the typical price of a market town home rose by nearly £1,000 a month, doubling from £114,718 in 2001 to £233,416 this year.

The study, based on findings from the Land Registry, suggested market towns in England have weathered the financial crisis and were faring well within their county.

Nitesh Patel, housing economist at Lloyds TSB, said: “The popularity of living in market towns is clearly evident from the substantial increases in average house prices seen over the past decade.

“Many of these towns offer an attractive balance between being close to the countryside and ease of access to the road and rail networks that allow residents to commute to work.”

Victoria Linsley, a property consultant based at George F White Estate Agents, in Wolsingham, Weardale, said larger houses, many with land, are pushing the averages up in Stanhope, and that homes in the picturesque countryside are more desirable than those in industrial areas.

In Crook meanwhile, the large number of available houses is keeping prices low.

Ms Linsley said: “There are many estates and terraced rows in Crook with a huge amount of construction sites and lots and lots on the market, therefore less forcing value up.”

Mrs Linsley said the lack of people wanting to buy holiday homes in Crook, compared to those in the picturesque dales, also plays a part in the differences between the two areas.

She said: “In reality, the standard property in a pretty dales village has still been hit by the recession and house price fall, and it is communicating that realistic message to people in order to sell within a reasonable time frame that we are striving to achieve.”