By Max Clarke
House prices in towns with universities formed after 1960 have soared in value, adding 70% to the mean price in a decade.
Prices in established university towns climbed at the slower rate of 64%, figures published today by Lloyds TSB indicate.
Many new universities were formed when polytechnics converted to university status after 1992. The change in status enabled them to award their own degrees and thereby attract more students.
House prices have more than doubled in seven of these new university towns over the last decade. Bangor in Wales recorded the biggest increase (129%), followed by Carlisle (110%), Sunderland (108%) and Dundee (107%). Pontypridd - home to University of Glamorgan - (106%), Bradford (105%) and Plymouth (102%) were the others where prices more than doubled.
The most expensive new university town — and also the most expensive of all university towns - is Winchester with an average house price of £364,667, followed by Kingston-upon-Thames (£360,331) and Buckingham (£330,795). The least expensive are Salford (£106,685), Paisley (£106,967) and Bradford (£108,282).
Despite the success of the newer establishments, older university towns have also recorded significant house price growth. In Aberystwyth the average house price has increased by 144%, making it the top performer of any university town. Hull saw the next biggest rise amongst older university towns — and the third amongst all universities - with the average price increasing by 119%, followed by the historic Scottish university cities of Aberdeen (118%) and Edinburgh (103%), and Exeter (91%)
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