HOUSE prices are continuing to rise in North and East Yorkshire, a survey revealed today.

The study by Halifax Estate Agents showed house prices in the Yorkshire region have risen by an average of 25 per cent in the last year.

This is the second-highest increase in the country, beaten only by the East Midlands where prices rose by 27 per cent.

Over the past five years the biggest increases have been seen in places such as Wetherby, Ripon, Harrogate and York.

During that longer period house prices in both Harrogate and Wetherby have risen by an astonishing 128 per cent. High rises were also seen in Ripon, which experienced a 126 per cent rise, and York, where house prices rose by 118 per cent.

In 1998 the average house in York cost £71,753, but this figure rocketed to £156,504 in 2003. The cost of an average home in Selby has risen 117 per cent from £58,330 in 1998 to £126,353 in 2003.

The biggest rise in value over the past five years has occurred in the cost of flats and maisonettes in North Yorkshire, which, at an average price of £100,922, are worth 130 per cent more now than in 1998. In East Yorkshire the biggest increases in the last year have been in the value of detached and semi-detached properties. In the last year these type of properties have risen by 34 per cent.

The survey also revealed that North Yorkshire is the most expensive county in the Yorkshire region with the average house costing £149,514. The average house in East Yorkshire costs £87,995.

According to the report, Wetherby is the most expensive place to buy a home in Yorkshire with an average house price of £223,297. For the purposes of this survey, the West Yorkshire town was included in the statistics for North Yorkshire, as was York.

Jane Pridgeon, managing director of Halifax Estate Agents, said: "We've seen strong house price growth across Yorkshire over the last five years and in the last year, house prices have risen faster than in most parts of the UK. Affordability is the key to a settled housing market and as house prices remain low relative to average earnings in Yorkshire, the outlook for the housing market in the region remains good."

Updated: 09:48 Friday, August 01, 2003