A national property expert is advising first-time-buyers and buy-to-let investors to look north during 2017.

Allison Thompson, managing director at property specialist, Leaders, predicts the largest rises in house prices will be found in the Midlands and the north-west in the coming year.

Recent data from the Halifax showed some of the UK’s weakest house price growth during 2016 was in Blackpool, Liverpool and Wolverhampton, with average house prices down year-on-year.

This spells potential for investors wanting to take advantage of relatively low prices – all are currently averaging well below £200,000.

Overall, Allison predicts a strong, stable start to the year, following the uncertainty of 2016.

She said: “While Brexit certainly had an effect on the market last year - particularly in the run up to the vote - we do not expect it to have an ongoing impact and our forecast for 2017 is extremely positive.

“The simple fact is there are still thousands of people looking to move home and they will not put their plans on hold indefinitely, so we expect to see a high number of transactions in both the sales and lettings markets in 2017.

“We anticipate an influx of properties coming to the market throughout January as people get on with their next move - and this will give the sector a lift that is likely to ensure a strong year in both sales and lettings.”