Property prices in two remaining UK areas finally returned to their pre-2008 crash levels last October, more than 11 years later than St Albans.

The Cathedral city was the second-fastest UK area to recover from the housing market crash, taking two years and six months to return to its March 2008 peak.

London turned things around in just two years, however, while latest Land Registry data has confirmed that Durham and Hartlepool have only just done so, taking 14 years and 13 years 11 months respectively.

According to home setup service Just Move In, property prices in St Albans are now at 175 per cent of their pre-crash peak, placing the city between London (181 per cent) and Cambridge (168 per cent) in the post-recovery success stakes.

Ross Nichols, co-founder of Just Move In, said: “The housing market has exploded over the past year, but it’s sobering to think it’s taken 14 years for every part of the country’s property prices to recover to the levels they were before the 2008 crash.

“Hartlepool and Durham are the last two parts of the country to hit that level, while Blackpool and Middlesbrough only recovered in the previous month.

“There’s a north-south divide when it comes to the recovery, with London and other southern cities bouncing back quickly, while northern areas are still lagging behind.”