Canterbury is one of the best places for the housing market in the country, as prices continue to plummet nationally.

Nationwide released its latest data on the housing market today, which showed property prices are falling sharply across all regions.

But the Cathedral city was named as one of top five hottest regional towns or cities in the country for keeping prices steady.

It has seen only a four per cent drop in prices annually - and the average house price remains an above average £215,608.

The east, central and west Kent regions all saw an average drop of five per cent this quarter, while Medway prices went down nine per cent.

Across the UK, house prices fell for an 11th consecutive month, with a 12.4 per cent annual drop in prices that has pushed the average UK home’s price down to £161,797.

The price of a typical property fell by 4.6 per cent between the second and third quarters of this year, taking the year-on-year decline to 10.3 per cent.

The annual decline is still lower than the record 10.7 per cent fall in the fourth quarter of 1990 - but the quarter-on-quarter drop is the biggest in the history of the Nationwide House Price Index.

And for the first time, the figures show that the north is outperforming the typically more affulent south in the housing market.

Northern Ireland experienced the weakest annual price change, while Scotland had the strongest.

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David Bexon, managing director of internet estate agent email4property, says that despite the economic downturn, Canterbury remains appealing to buyers.

"They are keen to buy into its impressive history and status as a World Heritage Site," he said.

"Canterbury has its obvious attractions, with the Cathedral, castle and museums bringing in a constant flow of recreational visitors - but in recent years its appeal has increased among young professional homebuyers.

"The city's progression is reflected in the number of new apartment schemes that have appeared in the central districts over the past year, and how well these have continued to sell in the current market."