Revealed: The startling proof the North/South property divide really IS over

House prices in the Midlands booming Surge rippling into the North But London and the South-East stalled In Money Mail’s exclusive analysis . . .

MIDLANDS market town Melton Mowbray knows that the way to Britons’ hearts is through their stomachs. Famous for its pork pies (made from hand-raised pigs) and stilton, it proudly refers to itself as the Rural Capital Of Food.

last weekend, it hosted ChocFest, a festival attended by the UK’s top chocolatiers.

despite the town’s popularity, it is, nonetheless, surprising that property prices are rising faster here than almost anywhere else in the country. Over the past 12 months, prices in this quiet rural community have soared by 12.8 pc — more than triple the UK average of 3.5 pc.

Close to the cities of leicester and nottingham, and mainline railway stations such as Grantham, it is now popular with professionals.

its good-value, spacious properties, beautiful countryside and excellent schools make it perfect for families too, pushing up prices in an area of low supply.

it is a trend reflected all over the East and West Midlands. Property prices here are growing by 6 pc a year, outstripping all other parts of the country, says the Office for national statistics.

By contrast, prices are tumbling by 0.3 pc in london. and in the previously booming regions of the south-East and East, they are rising by just 1.7 pc and 2 pc respectively.

The property price explosion in london and the Home Counties in recent years seems finally to be rippling out to other parts of the country.

MIDLANDS TOWNS STORMING AHEAD

FiVE of the top ten local authority areas in the country for house price rises are now in the Midlands, including East staffordshire and newcastle-under-lyme, also staffordshire, daventry in northamptonshire and Broxtowe, nottinghamshire.

This trend is set to continue, according to experts.

Estate agent savills predicts prices will rise by another 3 pc in the Midlands next year compared to just 1.5 pc across the UK.

in the summer, stratford-upon-avon, Warwickshire, was the country’s top town for house price growth. Other parts of the Midlands which have seen double- digit growth in 2018 include Harborough and Blaby, both in leicestershire, Rugby in Warwickshire, Wellingborough and Kettering in northamptonshire and Rushcliffe in nottinghamshire.

The Midlands’ economy has been boosted by big firms opening warehouses and offices in the region.

HsBC bank, for example, moved its UK head office to Birmingham, while food and drink firm nestlé has announced it will build a new £55 million distribution centre in leicestershire.

Hs2, a high-speed railway which will connect london, Birmingham, the East Midlands, leeds and Manchester, has also boosted prices.

it is set to open between 2026 and 2033, but its impact is already being felt in the property market.

Hs2 will cut the journey time between Birmingham and london to just 45 minutes. This should make it easier for workers to commute to the capital, which, in turn, should encourage more businesses to open new offices in the Midlands.

Figures show there has already been an exodus of workers from london to the region in search of more affordable housing.

Most simply find new jobs when they move. But experts say faster broadband and a rise in flexible working has allowed many to keep their london jobs and work from home.

improved rail and road links mean some workers travel hundreds of miles each day to the capital and back from their Midlands homes.

Even without Hs2, it already takes only about an hour to get to many Midlands towns from london by train.

london Euston to Coventry, for example, takes just 59 minutes, while london st Pancras to Wellingborough, northamptonshire, takes 47 minutes and london King’s Cross to Grantham, lincolnshire, is only one hour and eight minutes.

BUYERS FLEEING THE CAPITAL

sinCE 2010, the proportion of londoners moving to the Midlands or northern England has tripled.

a Hamptons international study found that in the first half of 2018, londoners bought over 30,000 homes outside the capital, 16 pc more than last year. Today, one in five london leavers move to the north or Midlands, up from one in 17 a decade ago.

in Melton Mowbray, Charlene Rushton, branch manager at estate agent Connells, says: ‘There has definitely been an increase in demand.

‘stock is very low across all agents in the area. First- time buyer properties are gone within a week of going on the market. about 75 pc of our sales have been to people moving into the area — some from the south as they can get far more for their money here. some buyers are living here and commuting to london.

‘We even had a family sending their children on the train to school in the south while they tried to get them settled into a new one here.’

aneisha Beveridge, Hamptons international head of research, says: ‘The Midlands has been lagging behind average price rises in England and Wales and only began out-performing them in 2017. i believe that after several years of rising prices in neighbouring counties, the Midlands now looks good value.

‘People working in london looking to buy a first home are leap-frogging the Home Counties to find a family-sized house they can afford. stamp duty is so expensive that people do not want to move, and then move again a few years later.’

it took house prices in the Midlands three years longer to recover from the financial crisis