House prices in England rising faster than rest of the UK

Official figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that house prices in England have increased considerably faster than the rest of the UK.

UK house prices increased by 5.2% in the year to the end of August, the same rate as to end of July.

This is in comparison to a 0.8% increase in Wales, 2.9% in Northern Ireland and a drop of 0.9% in Scotland.

The fastest rises in England were in East and South East with an annual increase of 8.8% and 7.4% respectively.

The most expensive properties are in London, costing on average £522,000, down slightly on the figure from July. The North East had the lowest average house price at £160,000.

Average mix-adjusted house prices in August 2015 stood at £298,000 in England, £174,000 in Wales, £151,000 in Northern Ireland and £198,000 in Scotland.

The average price of a house in the UK is now £284,000 and £217,000 if London and the South East are excluded.

The figures also revealed that a prices for a new home paid by fist-time buyers were on average 3.8% higher than in August last year.

Adrian Gill, Director of estate agents Reeds Rain and Your Move, commented: “The cheaper northern regions are experiencing the fastest growth in property sales, while a shortage of property stock on the market in the South is slowing activity.

“The most frequently paid property price across England and Wales is just £125,000, mirroring the level at which stamp duty becomes payable, and reflecting the impetus that has been injected in the first-time buyer market recently.

“It is also the lower to mid-range properties priced between £180,000 and £360,000 which are seeing the fastest increases in value, while the shift in stamp duty bands continues to slow growth at the higher end of the market, and prices above £600,000 are largely stationary.”

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