London’s cheapest borough Barking and Dagenham enjoyed the biggest rise in property prices in 2022, according to exclusive data prepared for Homes & Property.

Average prices rose by 6.6 per cent to £339,100 in the east London borough as buyers sought out affordable housing options amid the cost of living crisis, the figures from property portal Zoopla reveal.

The area has also been boosted by public transport improvements such as the extension of the London Overground to Barking Riverside where thousands of new homes are being built.

The Zoopla analysis shows that most of the biggest rises were in outer London boroughs where buyers can get far more for their money. The shift to hybrid working also means they do not get saddled with such high commuter costs as in the pre-pandemic era.

Second was Bexley with a 5.7 per cent rise to £403,800, followed by Havering (5.5 per cent to £428,900) and Sutton (5.2 per cent to £445,800)

The highest ranked more affluent borough was the always in-demand Richmond where prices rose 5.2 per cent to £774,500.

Prices in more expensive central London boroughs barely rose as rising mortgage rates, stretched affordability, and the slow return of foreign buyers after the pandemic kept a lid on values.

The smallest rise of all was in Westminster where prices went up just 1.3 per cent to £976,000, followed by Kensington & Chelsea with a 1.7 per cent increase to £1.182 million.

Two other wealthy boroughs, Camden and Hammersmith & Fulham, also saw small increases of around 2 per cent.

Price rises in London have generally lagged behind those in the rest of the country this year with increases in the mid single digits.

However this is expected to reverse over the coming year amid growing evidence that urban areas are coming back into fashion as memories of the pandemic recede.

The Zoopla data also shows how London houses have gone up far more in value than flats since the start of the pandemic. Since 2019 average house prices have risen 15 per cent to £687,621 while the average cost of a flat is only 3.5 per cent higher at £409,812.