Homeowners are prepared to pay a £30,000 premium to live in an English market town.
A typical property in a market town costs around £231,163, 14 per cent or £29,319 more than the average for the county they are in, according to Lloyds TSB.
It costs more to buy a house in 69 per cent of market towns, compared with buying a property in neighbouring towns, with Beaconsfield commanding the highest premium, with properties selling for 145% more than across Buckinghamshire as a whole.
Wetherby has the next biggest premiums, with homes in the town costing 99 per cent more than the average for West Yorkshire, while in Bakewell homes cost around 90 per cent more than in the rest of Derbyshire.
Beaconsfield is also the most expensive English market town in which to buy a home, with the average property costing £736,585, followed by Winchcombe in Gloucestershire at £360,451 and Cranbrook in Kent at £353,726.
All of the top 10 most expensive market towns are in the South, with Wetherby the most expensive market town outside of southern England, with average property prices of £311,140.
At the other end of the scale, Ferryhill in Durham is the cheapest market town in which to buy a home, with average prices of just £98,799.
It is followed by Crook, also in Durham, at £107,769 and Immingham in Lincolnshire at £110,620.
Only 10 market towns have average house prices of less than £150,000, and three of these are in Durham, while two are in Lincolnshire.
Martin Ellis, housing economist at Lloyds TSB, said: “Homes in market towns command a significant premium over their neighbouring towns with the quality of life benefits often associated with living in such locations still proving popular among homebuyers.
“Market towns are often particularly attractive for those looking to move into more idyllic surroundings without sacrificing many of the important amenities they currently enjoy.”
