Rochford and South Lakeland are the only two local authority districts in the UK with higher house prices now than in 2007, according to new figures.

Research from the Bank of Scotland revealed that the average house price in the Essex area was £229,666 in 2007, and it now stands at £231,595.

The only other region where prices did not go down was in South Lakeland, in the north-west, where average prices were up by just under £200 over the past four years.

The south-east of the UK fared particularly well in the study, with Hart, Spelthorne, Windsor and Maidenhead, Worthing and Torridge seeing the cost of housing go down by between one and five per cent.

Recently, Rightmove reported that the cost of property went up by nearly £8,000 in January alone in the north-east; the biggest jump in monthly asking price for a decade.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at the Bank of Scotland, said: “Across the UK, a striking feature of our analysis of the areas that have fared best and worst in the past four years is a distinct north-south divide.”

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