THE average price of a home in Woking has rocketed by almost £100,000 in 2022, the highest cash-based increase in the UK.

In its just-released review of the UK housing market, the Halifax bank states: “Woking recorded the biggest house price increase, up by £93,626 (19.0%).”

It continues: “Woking, with its good links to central London, saw the biggest increase of any town or city in cash terms in 2022.

“The [average] cost of buying a home in the desirable commuter town leapt from £493,299 in 2021 to £586,925 in November 2022.”

Overall, the south east of England recorded the highest house-price growth (14.1%) of any UK region.

Although the Halifax does not reveal how many properties were included in its review, the sample size is a minimum of 150 transactions.

The figures reflect analysis of the Halifax database on mortgages, showing the average price across all home types, in cash terms.

In the nationwide survey, York saw the highest property price inflation of any town or city in England and Wales during 2022, growing by 23.1% (£69,648) over the course of the last year.

The average house price in the city stands at £370,639.

While house prices in London have increased at a slower pace (7.2%) than other parts of the UK, prices in the capital are still comfortably the most expensive in the country at an average £596,667.

Kim Kinnaird, mortgages director, Halifax, said: “Overall 2022 was another year of rapid house price growth for most areas in the UK.

“While London still has some of the highest property prices in the country, it recorded comparatively modest house price inflation over the last 12 months, partly due to pandemic-driven shifts in housing preferences as buyers sought bigger properties further from urban centres.

“We can see this clearly in commuter towns such as Woking which, with their more diverse range of properties perhaps offering better value, recorded much bigger increases over the last year.”

The news may, however, be less welcome to those trying to get a foot on the housing ladder.

READ more reaction to the story and prospects for the housing market in 2023 in the 5 January edition of the Woking News & Mail