As mentioned here previously the polarisation of the UK regional property markets since mid-2009 has meant that many property investors and landlords have had to re-adapt to changing conditions in their local market to maximize their investment returns. Until recently many localities outside the south east of England would have seen only a relatively modest recovery in residential values after the sharp falls of 2008-9.

The article by Kate Faulkner on page 38 compares the performance of locations all across the UK in the ten year period from 2003-2013 and it's interesting to see just how poorly some towns and boroughs have fared during that period. However, as Kate acknowledges, if you turn the clock back another five years to 1998 the results would look more positive. Are some of the poorer performing locations over the last ten years now ripe for a positive upturn, or does the data reflect problems of buyer affordability or perhaps an excess supply of unsuitable property relative to local demand or unemployment?