UK house prices property housing
House prices are rising across many parts of the UK amid a housing shortage Reuters

Zoopla, the property listings website, thinks it has come up with the total value of the housing market — £8.17tn ($10.1tn). If that were a GDP figure, it would be the third largest economy in the world, behind China and the US, but ahead of Japan and Germany.

And, while only indicative, that number is 7.35% higher than a year before, reflecting the growth in house prices over 2016 as a housing shortage in parts of the country drives property values up further, defying fears over the vote to leave in the 23 June referendum on EU membership.

Lawrence Hall, spokesman for Zoopla, said it "certainly been a historic year, with the events of the past six months giving rise to potential political uncertainty. However, the property market – it seems – remains resilient and property values across Britain have continued to grow."

The Zoopla data also revealed that the East of England was the region that had seen the largest increase in house prices since January 2016. The average price had risen 11.56% over that period to £358,401.

London, where prices are highest and which has seen the most rapid growth in recent years, slipped to ninth place as affordability issues for first-time buyers and tax hikes for investors bite down on demand. The city's average price grew 5.12% to £680,593.

"As city centre living becomes increasingly less affordable, our data shows significant increases in property values in popular commuter towns," Hall said. "Towns such as Leatherhead in Surrey and Diss in Norfolk, which offer commuting times to London of under one hour and 90 minutes respectively, have proved particularly desirable."

UK property Zoopla house prices infographic
Zoopla

Average property value and increase by country

RankingCountryCurrent average value% increase in value since January 2016
1England£325,5757.59%
2Scotland£185,3555.56%
3Wales£179,0743.8%

Average property value and increase by region

RankingRegionCurrent average value% increase in value since January 2016
1East of England£358,40111.56%
2West Midlands£220,9938.74%
3South East England£411,7368.44%
4South West England£297,0547.88%
5North West England£190,0057.57%
6East Midlands£209,1837.42%
7Yorkshire and The Humber£173,3625.58%
8Scotland£185,3445.56%
9London£680,5935.12%
10Wales£179,0963.80%
11North East England£187,6832.41%

Top 10 post towns for price growth since January 2016

RankingTownCurrent average value% increase in value since January 2016
1Diss, Norfolk£305,89616.20%
2Leatherhead, Surrey£833,63114.70%
3Southall, London£382,15314.55%
4Crook, County Durham£121,94914.45%
5Seaford, East Sussex£351,88814.29%
6Woodford Green, Essex£616,92514.28%
7Chippenham, Wiltshire£338,10214.14%
8Northwood, London£915,20714.13%
9Shoreham-By-Sea, West Sussex£387,24813.80%
10Upminster, Essex£552,56113.77%

Bottom 10 post towns for price growth since January 2016

RankingTownCurrent average value% increase in value since January 2016
1Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire£217,234-2.83%
2Llandudno, Conwy£195,623-2.38%
3Ashington, Northumberland£108,611-2.31%
4Bangor, Gwynedd£165,673-1.03%
5Newquay, Cornwall£264,892-0.81%
6West Drayton, London£360,604-0.43%
7Ossett, West Yorkshire£167,2240.02%
9Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent£93,4580.25%
10Pontypridd£144,4130.51%

Source: Zoopla, December 2016