Where is the worst place to have bought a home since ...

Analysis of official figures has revealed the worst performing UK location for average house price growth since the first quarter of 2000.

Of 7,207 locations in England and Wales, only one has recorded a decrease in the average value since the start of the new millennium.

eMoov's analysis of the Office for National Statistics' (ONS) median house prices figures shows that the average house price in the centre of Bolton is now 9% lower than it was in 2000.

The average cost of a home in the heart of the north west town is now £70,621, down from £77,202.

It peaked at £105,608 in the first quarter of 2008.

In 2000, the average home in the centre of Bolton was just £8,000 below the UK average it is now over £150,000 lower than the current ONS average of £221,254.

It is thought the high number of buy to let properties in Bolton is a driving factor behind the poorly performing property market, with buy to let investors driving down prices due to the purchase of multiple properties at a time.

But it’s not all bad news. Of the 43 areas in the local authority of Bolton, the remaining 42 have all seen an increase in values over the last 16 years, 16 of which have actually enjoyed a higher increase than the average across England and Wales.

Bolton centre's woes are far removed from the picture across the rest of England and Wales.

The average homeowner has seen an increase of 172% since 2000, according to the estate agent's analysis.

“Generally getting on the ladder is the safest investment one can make in England and Wales and it would seem that anywhere other than this particular area of Bolton, would have at least seen some sort of return on that investment,” says Russell Quirk, eMoov's founder.

“It doesn’t seem like things will be improving anytime soon with low demand for property across Bolton as a whole likely to cool the local market even further. You have to feel for those that have seen the value of their property drop in Bolton, it’s almost the equivalent of everyone in the UK buying a lottery ticket and you being the only one that doesn’t hit the jackpot.”