This briefing paper forms part of our on-going work programme on the housing crisis. It follows recent reports we have published on council housing, the London housing market, the future of housing associations, housing and philanthropy, and home ownership. The research is intended to inform the debate about the state of the residential property market and house price movements in England and Wales. Our aim is to document what has happened across the country to house prices since the financial crisis, and to place the spotlight on some of the policy implications. The purpose of the report is not however to argue that high prices are good thing but to draw attention to the growing spatial disparities.