Average property prices in half of UK towns and cities are still below their pre-crash 2007 levels, particularly in the north, an online agent has warned.

Research from HouseSimple, based on Land Registry data from February 2007 and 2016, found homes in 53% of towns and cities in the UK had still failed to recover, meaning many homeowners with a mortgage could be in negative equity.

HouseSimple looked at 75 major towns and cities in England and Wales, and discovered that 17 of the 20 most affected towns and cities since the financial crash in 2007 are in the North of England, with the North West the worst hit by post-recession negative equity – four-in-ten of the top 20 negative equity towns and cities are in the region.

The worst affected towns are Blackpool and Middlesbrough, where house prices are now almost 30% lower than pre-crash highs at £77,317 and £77,024 respectively, HouseSimple said. 

Blackburn and Liverpool are both in the top five worst affected towns and cities, with average house prices still 25% and 23% lower than before the crash.  Yorkshire and the Humber has also been hit hard, with a quarter of towns in the top 20 list in that region. Average prices in Middlesbrough are still 28% below pre-2008 levels, while in Bradford and Hull, house prices are 20% and 19% lower than 2007 averages, according to the research.

In comparison, average London homes have gone up 52% from £339,511 to £530,368 over the same period, according to HouseSimple.

Home owners and buyers in Winchester have also seen average prices shoot up by 44.2 per cent from, £310,089 in 2007 to £447,046 in 2016.

Alex Gosling, of HouseSimple, said: “London home owners have watched as their properties have risen in value substantially since 2008 but, thousands of people around the country have had to put their lives on hold, unable to move because they are trapped in negative equity. 

“Unfortunately, the north of England has been slower to recover losses suffered during and after 2008. And anyone wanting to relocate for work or family reasons faces a less than appealing choice, either making a loss on the sale of their property or staying put and waiting until the price of their house at least recovers to the price they paid.”