House prices are no longer the preserve of one part of the country

Crewe in Cheshire, famous for its train station, saw the biggest price gains during the year to the end of June, with the cost of a home soaring by 58%.

Carlisle and Accrington followed hot on the heels of Crewe, seeing price rises of 55% and 54% respectively.

But the bank said there were signs that price growth in the north is slowing.

North-south gap

Four of the top 10 towns which saw the highest increases were in the North West, while three were in Scotland.

The county which recorded the strongest house price growth was Gwynedd in Wales.

We're confident we'll get another six months of it and then perhaps it will stabilize out...I don't think we'll see big drops though Jonathan Swinn, estate agent in Lancashire

Prices in Gwynedd rose 45%, followed by the Tayside and Borders regions in Scotland, both with 43%.

At the other end of the scale, house prices in Dorset rose by 7%, while in Essex the cost of property increased by 10%.

Tim Conway, from the Halifax, has said the latest price rises are all linked to the same factors.

"If we're looking at the hotspots all around the country, the key thing that really stands out to me is that people are looking for commuter towns with good transport links.

"We're looking at prices in some of the major cities stabilizing a little bit and people looking for value heading out and that's where we're seeing the major price rises," Mr Conway said.

Instant sale

Jonathan Swinn, an estate agent from Accrington in Lancashire where there has been a 54% rise, told BBC News 24 the jump has been phenomenal.

"Month on month we've seen prices grow by five and ten thousand pounds. You put a house up for sale you sell it instantly.

"A lot of it started with investors a few years ago when the pensions policies weren't doing very well, and they all seemed to buy properties to let out.

"We're confident we'll get another six months of it and then perhaps it will stabilize out. I don't think we'll see big drops though," Mr Swinn said.

However, Halifax warned that first-time buyers were increasingly being priced out of the market and this was starting to have a negative impact on house price growth in the north and west.

"There are now signs that this, together with the recent rises in interest rates, is causing house price inflation in the north to slow.

"Prices rose by less in the second quarter of 2004 than in the first quarter in northern England and Wales," Martin Ellis, Halifax chief economist, said.