House price growth stutters in England

Posted: 06 Jul 2006 09:47:07 GMT

The average UK house price has increased by 4.8 per cent in the last 12 months, but England is lagging behind its neighbours with growth of just 3.6 per cent.

Nationwide's latest Quarterly Regional Review shows that house price growth in Wales has been largely in line with the UK average, but the picture in Scotland and Northern Ireland is very different.

Annual house price inflation in Scotland now stands at an impressive 10.7 per cent, while in Northern Ireland it has reached a staggering 24.9 per cent.

Within England, property owners have seen the most notable price increases in London at 4.71 per cent and East Anglia at 4.7 per cent, while Yorkshire and Humberside has experienced growth in the region of 4.67 per cent.

The average price of a UK house in the last quarter was £165,035, rising from just £160,000 in the first quarter. In London, however, the average house now costs more than £250,000, as the market remains strong.

Of the prominent price growth discrepancies within the UK, Nationwide's group economist Fionnuala Earley observed: "The Northern Irish and Scottish housing markets are booming and, like their governments, have become increasingly devolved from the UK."


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