Official figures published by the Office of National Statistics reveals a general slowdown in annual property growth, with average UK house prices increasing by 4.1% in the year to March 2017, but still down from 5.6% in the year to February.
Reporting on the data, PropertyWire says:
- in March 2017, the average UK house price was £216,000 (£9,000 higher than in March 2016 but £1,000 lower than last month);
- England is the main contributor to the increase in UK house prices, where prices increased by 4.4% over the year to March 2017, taking the average price in England to £233,000;
- Wales saw house prices increase by 4.3% year on year to an average of £148,000;
- in Scotland, the average price increased by 0.7% over the year to stand at £137,000;
- the average house price in Northern Ireland currently stands at £124,000 – a year on year increase of 4.3%.
Regions And Annual Growth
Regionally, London remains the region with the highest average house price at £472,000 (but the second lowest annual growth at 1.5%), followed by the South East at £312,000 and the East of England at £277,000.
The lowest average house price continues to be in the North East at £122,000, which also experienced the lowest annual growth, where prices fell by 0.4% over the year.
The East of England and the East Midlands both showed the highest annual growth, with prices increasing by 6.7% in the year to March 2017.
This was followed by the West Midlands at 6.5%.
Commenting on the data, an industry expert said that the private rented sector is likely to see demand on going: “Investment in large scale developments, specifically designed to rent rather than buy, will help to control house price growth while also improving living standards for those relying on a well-served buy to let market” he explained.
