Some of the UK’s poorest areas could see the biggest increases in house prices next year, despite average property values across the country remaining unchanged. Daily Telegraph

Houses in towns and cities in Scotland and northern England will experience some of the biggest jumps in 2008, according to a survey by Halifax Estate Agents.

Liverpool, Hackney and Lochgelly, Fife, are among 10 property hotspots identified by the Halifax, which expects undervalued areas to increase in price as buyers look further afield.

The areas are all identified as places where property is valued at a substantial discount to the average for their region, with homes in Liverpool, worth 24% less on average than those in the rest of the north-west of England, while those in Lochgelly sell for 31% below the Scottish average.