AVERAGE asking prices by house sellers in Hampshire have continued to rise since the financial crisis struck, according to new figures.

The average asking price for houses across the county stands at £283,217 – a rise of more than four per cent since the housing market was at its pre-crisis peak in May 2008.

However, on the Isle of Wight, average asking prices have dropped to £231,738 – more than a ten per cent fall over the same period.

Only County Durham registered a lower deficit with a 13 per cent drop in asking prices, while Merseyside has seen a drop of almost nine per cent.

Average asking prices for houses in Dorset stand at £324,373 – a six per cent rise.

However the asking prices are way behind those in central London, which register at an eye-watering £1.5m.

The figures have been revealed by property website Rightmove after comparing the average asking prices in May 2008 with those in August 2014.

The data was worked out using the website’s new house price ‘trendometer’, which allows users to see how asking prices in their area have fared since the website’s records started in 2001.

Clear divide There is a clear north-south divide in average prices, according to the figures, with areas such as County Durham, Greater Manchester and Lancashire all struggling to recover.

Outside London, Cambridgeshire has seen the strongest recovery in sellers’ asking prices, according to the figures.

Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said: “While at a high level the south has out-performed the north, being able to dig underneath that courtesy of the millions of properties advertised on Rightmove since 2001 shows a really varied county versus county performance.”