Average house prices rising at fastest rate for five months to touch just under £300,000

Average house prices rose at the fastest rate for five months in February to £299,556, Your Move claims.

The Your Move House Price Index for February shows that average values were up 0.5% on a monthly basis, the largest rise since the 0.6% recorded in September.

The monthly rise reverses the flat growth experienced in January, but the annual growth slowed to 0.6% from 0.7% a month before.

The north-west, east midlands, south-west and Wales all recorded new peak average prices in the month. Prices in the north-west were up 4.6% annually to £192,188, the east midlands saw growth up 2.5% to £208,764 while the south-west was up 4.1% to £287,858. Average prices in Wales hit £181,420, up 3% annually.

The south-east and London weighed on the market, down 0.5% and 2.6% respectively on an annual basis. Average prices were actually up 2.5% annually when you exclude these two regions.

Oliver Blake, managing director of Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agents, said: “When examining the bigger picture, house prices are steadily balancing to meet the needs of house buyers which is welcome news for those looking to take their first steps on to the property ladder.

“However, housing supply in the UK isn’t meeting demand and there is still a bottleneck of available properties.

“The industry needs to work together to provide a long-term solution to increase movement within the market. By building more homes and introducing more initiatives for each stage of the property lifecycle we should start to see more choice for first-time buyers, second steppers and last-time buyers.”

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