House prices in Cambridge have risen more than any other British town or city over the past seven years. They are now a third higher than their previous peak in 2007 and have increased by an average of £53,000 over the past year alone.

The university city is one of eight locations where prices have surpassed their previous record highs, analysis by property firm Hometrack has found. All are in the south of England except Aberdeen, where prices have been driven up by the booming oil industry.

At the other end of the scale, homes in Belfast are still fetching only half the amount they did before the crash, according to the report, which underlines the huge differences in the UK market.

Hometrack’s first UK cities house price index looked at the Land Registry’s prices-paid data for 20 urban areas that account for 9.8m homes out of Britain’s total stock of 27m. In all those areas, house prices have increased over the past year, although in one – Aberdeen – the rate of growth has now plateaued.