HOUSE prices in Basildon have increased by more than 400 per cent over the past decade, according to a new report.

Research carried out by Halifax shows the average property in the town is now worth £256,060, compared to £55,424 ten years ago - an increase of 462 per cent.

This puts Basildon at number 14 in a list of new towns which have experienced the biggest house price increases. The top spot was taken by Milton Keynes, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. It has seen a price rise of 601 per cent, with the average property now worth £309,415.

Trevor Crowe, branch manager of Balgores, in Southernhay, Basildon, believes the large increase is due to residents snapping up their council homes at cut prices.

He said: “The increase may be due to the people who originally bought the houses in the new towns got them at a subsidised rate, because they are council houses which they purchased under the right to buy scheme.

“They then sold them at market value which would have been much higher.

“People weren’t as aware of new towns because they had no history when they were first built, but now they are more well known.”

According to Right Move, house prices in Whitmore Way increased from £147,267 in January 2007 to £234,884 in January 2017.

New towns generally - built between the Forties and Sixties - have seen house prices increase by nearly a third over the past ten years, increasing by just over £55,500 - from £173,337 to £228,902.

Other new towns topping the table include Telford, in the West Midlands, which had an increase of 586 per cent - with the average house price now worth £178,568.

Harlow, which now has an average house price of £280,592, experienced a 461 per cent increase.

Mr Crowe added: “We are seeing a healthy market in Basildon at the moment. A lot of people want to live in Upminster or Hornchurch, but these places are now quite expensive so Basildon is seen as the next best place to live.

“There are three stations and good road links to London.”