UK property growth at 12.2%

Posted: 19 Mar 2007 09:56:09 GMT

The average home in the UK is now worth £228,183 following 12.2 per cent growth in the 12 months up to March 2007, a Rightmove survey has found

The average home in the UK is now worth £228,183 following 12.2 per cent growth in the 12 months up to March 2007, a Rightmove survey has found.

This was up 11.5 per cent from the annualised rate in February said the price index, while monthly growth stood at 1.5 per cent.

The solid growth, which comes despite three interest rate rises since August, is due to chronic supply shortages in the property market said Rightmove.

"As we have seen recently, raising interest rates can be used to influence the direction of prices in the short term but do very little to address the underlying cause of house price inflation," said Miles Shipside of Rightmove.

"Crucially they cannot address the increasing demand for housing driven by the needs of a growing population."

High headline figures masked regional imbalances, with London property growing by 20 per cent overall and by up to 80 per cent at the top end of the market.

This compared to growth in single figures elsewhere in the country, with property prices in Wales and the north of England averaging around five per cent over the year.

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