Homeowners in certain parts of Dartford are among the housing market's "biggest winners", according to analysis by a property website.

Rightmove's latest study looked at where asking prices have seen the biggest jump over the past decade, between September 2010 and September 2020.

Looking outside of London it found two of the top ten hotspots which saw a major jump in housing value were in Kent.

Swanscombe witnessed the second biggest surge of anywhere in the UK, with the average house price almost doubling from £158,662 in September 2010 to £327,106 ten years later.

Its upwards fluctuation of 106% over the past decade was only bettered nationally by a neighbourhood in Bristol which saw a 120% rise.

Last December a total of 92 properties swapped hands at an average price of £342,842, according to property experts Rightmove.

The town, which sits between Dartford and Gravesend , benefits from easy access to Ebbsfleet International Station, at the heart of the new Garden City plans, and is also near where the London Resort theme park is planned to be built.

Nearby Stone was also declared one of the biggest "winners" after seeing a rise from £178,075 to £322,911, an increase of nearly £145,000.

Elsewhere, six of the top ten slots were occupied by areas in Bristol, with two in Kent and a further two in Essex.

Across the country average asking prices have risen by £93,046 in ten years, from £226,950 in September 2010 to £319,996 now, which represents an increase of 41%.

However, it was bad reading for first time buyers for whom average asking prices for a property with two bedrooms or fewer saw an increase of 39% in ten years.

But the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with the government's stamp duty holiday, has sent some buyers and sellers into a scramble to get onto or move up the property ladder.

According to Chris Fox, of Fox Estate Agents in Dartford it has been the busiest he has ever been .

But he told Kent Online in August the surge in demand might not be here to stay and could fall off when the tax holiday ends on March 31 next year.

The stamp duty break was announced in July by Chancellor Rishi Sunak to save people money who are getting on the property ladder or moving up it.

Buyers purchasing a property priced between £125,000 and £500,000 will pay the "nil rate" band of stamp duty, saving a significant portion of cash.

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