This is one of Britain’s most diverse regions: a mixture of London commuter villages, sought-after Peak District hamlets and former mining towns scarred by high unemployment. Average house prices vary widely, from more than £200,000 in quintessential shire towns such as Stamford to a little more than £100,000 in the former Nottinghamshire coalfields around Sutton-in-Ashfield.

Nottingham is dominated by a high number of new-build flats, although it has a number of desirable residential areas, such as West Bridgford and the Park, a private estate in the city centre. A development boom, meanwhile, is under way in Leicester.

Prices have been rising fastest away from the urban centres: the Halifax says Market Rasen, in Leicestershire, saw the fastest growth during the past 12 months, with the average rising by 24%. Dan Waller, partner in charge of Strutt & Parker’s office in Market Harborough, says that villages between here and Uppingham are particularly sought-after. “You are only about 65 minutes from St Pancras by train, and the schools are very good,” he says. “Lincolnshire is also popular, particularly the area around Stamford, and from Grantham into Lincoln.”

Northamptonshire, in the south of the region, features a host of pretty stone villages bordering the Cotswolds – but is also earmarked for thousands of new homes. Much of this area has more in common with its neighbours Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire than with the larger towns further north.

Average property price: £144,378

Annual increase: 6%

Predictions: After falls so far this year, prices look likely to rise slightly, with the strongest growth in towns within commuting distance of London

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