House price growth in the United Kingdom was 5.8 per cent in the year to February, up from 5.3 per cent in the year to January, but still below the average growth seen in 2016 of 7.3 per cent, official figures showed today.
The house price index climb was faster than the 5.3 percent annualised rise recorded for January. This compares to the country's most expensive borough, Kensington and Chelsea, where the average price for a house was £1.4 million.
United Kingdom house prices rose by 5.8 per cent to a new record in the year to February, increasing by half a per cent on the previous month, according to data on Tuesday from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The average price in Northern Ireland was £125,000, marking a 5.7% annual increase.
London continued to be the region with the highest average house price, at £475,000, followed by the South East and the East of England, at £312,000 and £282,000, respectively.
Wales saw house prices increase by 1.8 per cent over the previous 12 months to stand at £145,000 typically.
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But the highest annual growth was seen in the east of England, where prices rose by 10.3 per cent in the year to February 2017.
At the same time, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reported very strong borrowing in January and February. London price growth has been less buoyant than in recent years, slowing to just 3.7% annually.
According to the Nationwide, average prices fell during the month of March. "These are positive numbers from the housing market, and while one swallow does not a summer make, it could be the start of the spring market".
The latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyor (RICS) commented on lack of supply in its February survey 'that key activity indicators in the sales market remain subdued with transaction volumes broadly unchanged for the third month in succession.
Jeremy Duncombe, director of Legal & General Mortgage Club, said: "It might be over two months since the government announced its Housing White Paper, but as these figures show, house prices are continuing to rise at a rate that is only widening the affordability gap".
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