A national house price survey has identified Ilkley and Baildon among the hottest spots for property price rises in the next year.

As the national housing market slows down, prices in Ilkley could shoot up around 20 per cent, according to the survey which puts Ilkley fourth out of ten in a house price league table.

Top of the league is Fareham, in Hampshire, and second is Petersfield in the same county. Third is Northallerton, in North Yorkshire, but desirable places such as Chippenham in Wiltshire, Harrogate and Kendal, Cumbria, are all placed below Ilkley.

The predictions come from Experian, an information company which has built a sophisticated computer model to predict house price rises in different areas. The model was recently published by the Sunday Times.

Ilkley town clerk and Middleton resident Miggy Bailey said: "It is amazing, prices have risen sharply. There are very few houses on the market and that is what pushes up prices."

William Eddison, of Dale Eddison estate agents on The Grove, said he expected the business in the housing market would expand as spring progresses, but he added that price rises could be pegged back by the expected rise in Stamp Duty in the forthcoming Budget.

Mr Eddison said the average house price in Ilkley was between £100,000 and £150,000, a rise of around ten to 15 per cent on last year.

Conservative district councillor Martin Smith said that a high turnover of executives moving in and out of Ilkley had sent house prices rising sharply.

The high cost of housing in the town made it vital that affordable housing was provided to prevent an exodus of young residents.

Prices rises are tending to vary in other areas. Glenn Cunningham, manager of APS Estate Agents' Bradford and Shipley offices, said: "Shipley's an area where prices have gone up quite a lot recently, especially in Baildon and Saltaire.

"Bradford is one of the areas where prices haven't really gone up, apart from places like Birkenshaw. But in the centre the prices have kept the same and are even starting to go down in some areas."

Mr Cunningham predicted house prices would remain constant in Bradford over the coming year but would rise five to seven per cent in the Shipley area.

Lynn Green, of the Keighley and Bingley-based Green Partnership estate agents, said: "We've been very busy - the market in the Keighley area is still very good with properties going very quickly and fetching good prices."

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