Southend-on-Sea tops house price table, says Halifax All five towns that topped the Halifax house price survey were within commuting distance of the capital, with the average selling price in the Essex seaside resort rising 14.8pc to £198,418 by the end of 2012. Basingstoke experienced the second biggest rise, with a 14.7pc annual gain, while Rochester, St Albans and Dartford also made the top five. The average British home now costs £160,879, according to mortgage lender Halifax, broadly unchanged from the average of £161,017 recorded a year ago. However, Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said that the figures "concealed considerable local differences," with nine out of the 10 towns that saw the biggest declines located outside the south of England. "Several towns within easy commuting distance of the capital feature in the list of top performers, while the majority of towns that have fared worst in house price terms are outside southern England, where economic conditions have been less favourable," said Mr Ellis. The worst performing town was Craigavon in County Armagh, which saw an 18.4pc decline, while Wishaw in North Lanarkshire was one of four Scottish towns ranked among the worst 10 performers. Property analysts at Hometrack predict that house prices would fall by 1pc in 2013, as a reluctance by struggling families to take on more debt continue to act as a drag on the housing market next year. Mr Ellis said that he expected the North-South house price divide to persist into 2013.